


So Buffy Met Jack

by daniellemydear, taintedcrimson



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Torchwood
Genre: Crossover, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-14
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-11 19:28:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 119,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/802333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daniellemydear/pseuds/daniellemydear, https://archiveofourown.org/users/taintedcrimson/pseuds/taintedcrimson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After spending a few weeks trapped in an extratemporal holding cell together, Captain Jack Harkness offered Buffy Summers a job at Torchwood. And how could she ever turn down an offer like that? Post-Buffy S7/Torchwood S2</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One, Take 2 - Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was started in early 2009, and there are presently 28 chapters written and posted to other archives (including a LJ community and Twisting the Hellmouth). It's been on hiatus for two years, but all authors involved hope to get things up and running again! We've missed this little universe we created.
> 
> SBMJ is co-written by taintedcrimson, magicom on LiveJournal, and daniellemydear.
> 
>  _Spoiler Alert:_ Through Buffy/Angel series finales and Torchwood Series 2 / Doctor Who Series 4. (Some elements borrowed from the Buffy Season 8 comics.)  
>  _Disclaimer:_ Everything is owned by Joss/Fox and the BBC!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Inspired by interactions in the[Hotel California](http://community.livejournal.com/plentyofroom/profile) Panfandom RPG, this is a joint project between two women who adored the idea of Jack recruiting Buffy to Torchwood. Perhaps they adored it a little too much, but that remains to be seen._

**DAY ONE, TAKE 2 - Part 1**

Buffy Summers had never liked rain. She was a California Girl, born and raised, and enjoyed sun, long walks on the beach, and being able to wear whatever sort of clothing she chose and count on the weather for cooperation.

She could see that this was not going to be the case in Cardiff.

She'd gotten off her plane and stepped outside to be greeted by soaked jeans and squishy boots. She didn't think designer boots were _supposed_ to squish, and so she contemplated giving Jack a bill to pay for replacements, but he'd probably just flirt his way out of it. It would get her back into a good mood though, so might be worth a try.

First stop had been the tiny apartment the New Council had found for her and was actually going to pay for, as part of her "retirement" package. Not officially retired, of course, she'd still be on call for apocalypses and local Europe weirdness that needed professional backup, but for all intents and purposes, she was now fully employed by the Torchwood Institute. The thought made her perk right up.

The rain had stopped when she left her apartment, so, being used to Ohio weather where stopped rain stayed stopped, she didn't take an umbrella with her. Big mistake. Halfway to her new place of employment, the skies opened up and laughed at her. She was sure she looked like a drowned rat when she stepped into the little office that was supposed to cater to tourists. A drowned rat in designer clothing who was ready to hop a plane back to the States. 

Jack had better have been telling the truth about that Coffee God.

 

Ianto Jones was standing at his counter in the Mermaid Quay tourist office, absently flipping through an old magazine, when she entered. He looked up when he heard the door open. Jack hadn't really told him what to expect, per se. Their leader had disappeared mysteriously a short time before and reappeared equally mysteriously a couple of weeks after that. It wasn't that Ianto didn't believe his report about being abducted into an extratemporal holding cell, along with other people from throughout time and, apparently, space... they'd encountered far stranger things. It was just a little shocking for Jack to then add "Oh yeah, and I hired someone." Jack was the boss, he could hire whomever he wanted to. If he wanted to hire some American woman he met in an extratemporal prison, that was entirely his prerogative. It was just... well, it had been _Jack_ that had been dragging his feet about finding people to fill the vacant positions that had belonged to the fallen Tosh and Owen. And now? The mood he came back from his abduction in, you'd think he'd been on holiday.

Ianto straightened up as Buffy approached the counter. He was about to greet her, but realized that Jack hadn't even mentioned her name to them. "You must be the new recruit," he said diplomatically.

"That's me," Buffy answered with a smile, then cringed as she squished a little more. "I'm kinda drippy everywhere, sorry," she apologized, looking down at the small puddle quickly forming around her on the carpeted floor. "Not quite used to Cardiff's weather mood swings yet."

At least her leather jacket had offered a little protection from the downpour, so her shirt underneath was only slightly damp. She was ready to count any blessings at that point -- the office had some good air conditioning, and she only imagined it would get worse in the _underground_ base the good Captain was so fond of. 

Speaking of... Ooh, desk boy must be the _boyfriend_! That brought out a smile. "Ianto Jones, right?" she asked brightly, holding out a damp hand. "I'm Buffy Summers."

He peered wordlessly and slightly distastefully over the counter when she mentioned the dripping, then frowned ever so slightly when she addressed him by name. First of all, how did she know him by _sight_? Second of all... _Buffy_? Was that short for something? He didn't ask.

"Of course," he said, shaking her hand. He pressed the button under the counter that locked the Tourist Office door and opened the secret door in the wall. "It's just this way," he told her, stepping forward and standing to the side of the opening in the wall so she could precede him.

 

Buffy's grin widened a little as the nifty 'secret passage' was revealed and headed right inside, ready to see what Jack had so avidly described during their days stuck in that way too elegant hotel from hell. They headed down a hall and then into an elevator; everything looked old and... Europey. Not like old pretty Europe, but new grungy Europe. She liked it.

While the elevator took them down, she turned a smile on Ianto and said, "By the way, secret underground base? _So_ cool. Much better than a castle in Scotland, in my opinion."

A _castle_ in _Scotland_? What was she _talking_ about? He gave her the small, tight smile he used on most people when he was being polite. "Yes, it's much easier to keep things a secret when they're buried under the city," he agreed.

Ooh, she knew that smile. That was the kind of smile Giles wore around the mini-Slayers when they were getting on his nerves but he was still trying to be polite. It had to be a British thing. With Welsh relatives.

The elevator came to a stop before she could think of something not-annoying-American-y, and then there was the giant rolling door thing Jack had mentioned... And then whoa. She walked forward, her boots clomping on the stone and grating, and grinned. Glancing around the massive Hub, taking in all the lights and the water and grime that really was kinda charming, she saw a bit of movement up in a glassed-off office. Aha! "Jack Harkness, get your time-traveling butt down here!" she yelled with a laugh, hands on her hips as she waited for her new 'employer'.

 

Jack laughed happily as he jogged down from his office. He noticed Ianto standing behind her, the expression on his face telling Jack that he really was doing his level-best not to roll his eyes.

"Gwen!" Jack shouted to get his second-in-command's attention from where she was working at her computer, before giving Buffy a huge hug.

Buffy returned the enthusiastic hug, absolutely ecstatic at being reunited with someone who had quickly become one of her best friends, then tried to give a good first impression as she met his other team member. She was fairly certain she could have done better if she hadn't still been dripping.

"Welcome to Cardiff," he said brightly. "You've met Ianto," he confirmed. He gestured towards the brunette that approached the group. "This is Gwen Cooper." He looked between Gwen and Ianto. "This is Buffy, the Vampire Slayer."

Giving Gwen a little wave, she was about to say something that hopefully wasn't too 'stupid American' when a swooshing noise came from overhead and she glanced up... "You _really_ do have a pet pterodactyl!" she exclaimed, absolutely beaming at Jack in excitement. " _And_ a secret underground base and cute personal Coffee God! I am so glad I changed careers."  
Jack had to actively suppress a smile as Buffy babbled and he caught Ianto's eyes just above and behind her head - eyes that moved quickly from a sort of startled mortification into promising future retribution of some sort.

Ianto cleared his throat as he stepped towards his work station. "So. Vampire Slayer. Is that hyphenated?" Jack shot him a look. "For her personnel record," he answered dryly.

 

Buffy was still smiling as she glanced at Ianto at a very neat looking computer setup. Even the Council didn't have stuff that looked that high-tech, though, really, most of their stuff was magic-enhanced, so it didn't really have to be the newest and shiniest. "No hyphen," she answered, ignoring the feeling of 'huh?' coming from the room. "Just lots of capitals. And a 'the', don't forget the 'the'." It was very important, she had _earned_ that the!

Gwen, who had been willing to accept aliens and rifts in time and space, was apparently not so easily accepting of the undead, even after having worked with a dead man for a period of time. "When you say _vampire_ ," she started in a slow, heavily accented voice, "you don't mean those people who go around all in black clothes listening to strange music, do you?"

Jack was watching Gwen try to wrap her mind around the whole vampire thing when Ianto answered.

"I'll just put 'Summers'," he said tightly, taking some papers out of a drawer.

Jack turned around. "Aw, she already told you her last name? I was looking forward to signing off on Buffy The Vampire Slayer's personnel sheet."

Ianto didn't favour that with a glance, but merely continued what he was doing, so Jack returned his attention to Gwen. 

"She means _vampires_ ," he clarified. "Undead bloodsuckers of legend. She used to live on the Mouth of Hell. This sort of thing came up there the way that aliens come up here."

"Probably more," Buffy agreed with a nod, watching the other woman frown and stuggle with the concept. "We did have 12 cemeteries, and it was kinda the Demon Vacation Spot."

Gwen continued her frowning and crossed her arms, as if that would help her think better. "And they _killed_ people, yes? That's what vampires do, right? Kill people, or make other... vampires," she ended dully, feeling ever so stupid for even having the conversation.

Buffy couldn't help the chuckle that escaped as she shoved her hands into her jacket's pockets. "Yep, kill people, make more vamps, and try to end the world," she said brightly, like she was talking about a pretty garden and not evil undead things. "That's pretty much their MO."

"And how don't other people _know_ about this?" Gwen pressed, thinking about the spaceships over London and the disaster at Canary Wharf. Coverups maybe?

Ianto snorted from behind his paperwork. "They said Canary Wharf was destroyed by a gas leak, and people believed it. Even with a Cyberman in every home and Daleks raining death over half of London. Those, incidentally, were mass hallucinations, in case you didn't get the memo."

Jack rasied an eyebrow. Ianto was in quite a mood this morning, though he had a point. "I expect the vampires didn't routinely kill large numbers of people at the same time," he said, looking to Buffy for confirmation. "It wouldn't be hard to construct a cover up for a somewhat higher than the national average mortality rate."

 

Buffy lost a bit of her cheer at Ianto's mood, as well as the subject matter at hand. They'd followed the news of what had happened at Canary Wharf, and one of the mini-Slayers had lost someone in the disaster. Even across an ocean, they paid attention when the world was threatened, and they all had respect for their fellow fighters who were just trying to keep it safe.

"There was usually at least one mass killing a month, when some Big Bad rolled into town, much as we tried to stop it in time," she said in a serious tone, talking shop now and not even trying a little bit to show off. "The little stuff was explained by people falling on barbecue forks or gangs on PCP. The local cops weren't the brightest, and people in Sunnydale were pretty good at ignoring the bump in the nights."

Gwen, too, had sobered even more at Ianto's words, her quest for answers and understanding dimming a bit until Buffy mentioned something that caught her attention. "Sunnydale?" she repeated with a look of confusion. "I've heard that name before... Something about a... sinkhole?"

"Cover story," Ianto said flatly.

Jack gave him a sterner glance, but Ianto was still looking down at his work... though Jack suspected that didn't mean he didn't see it.

"Everyone is pretty good at ignoring things that go bump in the night. It's how they get _through_ the night," Jack said, giving Buffy's shoulder a squeeze.

Buffy set her hand on Jack's for a moment, meeting his gaze and once again feeling so very grateful for having met him in the Hellton. Someone who understood and knew her and didn't expect everything to be perfect... She just hoped things stayed as wonderful as they had started. 

"So," she started, forcing light back into her voice and a smile onto her face, "are you gonna show me around your humble abode or what? I had to hear about it for weeks and now you keep me stranded in the _lobby_? So unfair."

Jack grinned. "You have to admit," he said, spreading his arms from emphasis, "the lobby is pretty impressive." He looked over at Gwen. "Would you please give Buffy the VIP guided tour?" he asked politely. He turned and looked at Ianto, who was bent studiously over his work. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked equally politely, though it was very slightly strained this time. He headed for his office without waiting for a reply. Ianto glanced up, his eyes lighting just briefly on Buffy and Gwen before finding Jack's retreating back. He put down his pen and pushed away from his desk, heading up the small staircase a couple of feet behind Jack.

Gwen watched Jack and Ianto head off with a slightly concerned frown before turning to Buffy. "Right then, tour time, yes?" she said with a broad smile, the charming gap between her front teeth seeming to widen with the grin. "Showing you all the dark corners and hidden secrets of the Hub."

Buffy snorted and glanced up at Jack's office. "I'm surprised it isn't 'dark secret make-out' corners with Jack," she joked in that way that only people who really _knew_ Jack could.

Gwen laughed and decided she liked their new teammate. A bit odd, and very American, but Jack liked her and that was enough for Gwen. "Oh, he has some of those, too," she told Buffy with comically wide eyes. "Careful wandering round this place on your own in the middle of the night when you know Jack and Ianto are both still here."

Buffy shook her head with a smirk. "And they say there's no danger in the workplace," she mused, then shared a laugh with Gwen before setting off to begin the tour.


	2. Day One, Take 2 - Part 2

Jack turned and sat at his desk. Whatever Ianto felt about what Jack was sure he knew Jack wanted to discuss, Jack couldn't read it as Ianto entered the room. Ianto's face had assumed that implacable mask he was capable of slipping into whenever it suited him.

Jack waited for him to sit down.

Jack sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers as Ianto took his seat and regarded Jack placidly.

"What's bothering you?" Jack inquired with a balance of warmth and authority. He knew Ianto well and was well aware that there was no point in beating around the bush with the young archivist. He was content to stare at you placidly and answer exactly the questions you asked.

If, on the other hand, you asked the right questions, he was perfectly candid. He hadn't, in fact, lied to Jack one single time since the day the creature that had once been Lisa Hallett was discovered in the Hub's basement.

"Who is this woman, Jack?" he asked, the very slightest hint of irritation in his voice. "And why does she know everything about us, but we didn't even know her _name_?"

Ah. It wasn't Buffy herself or the fact that Jack had hired her that was causing the issue. It was the fact that Ianto had gotten the sense that Jack was holding out on them... and, perhaps more pointedly, _not_ similarly holding out on the newly arrived American import.

"We were stuck in that place for two weeks," Jack explained, leaning forward in his chair. "There was a lot of downtime. We chatted."

"You've been back for three days," Ianto pointed out. Jack didn't have a response to that, so he continued. "What does she _do_?" Ianto asked. "Why is she here?"

"After what happened..." his voice trailed off. They still had trouble talking about it in specific terms. All of them did. "We need someone who specializes in armed and hand to hand combat. An enforcer, of sorts. Buffy can more than handle herself and she was looking to make a career change." He shrugged. "It just worked out."

Ianto nodded slowly, taking this in. "So," he said ponderously. "You hired a ninety pound girl to _protect_ us," he confirmed.

"She's a vampire slayer," Jack said, as if that explained everything.

"Which means what, exactly?" Ianto said flatly.

"Super strength, super agility, accelerated healing..." Jack said, listing the abilities Buffy had mentioned to him off the top of his head.

"So you hired a _superhero_ to protect us," Ianto said dryly, revising his earlier observation.

"Essentially," Jack agreed evenly.

"Do you want me to go upstairs and wait for Superman and Wolverine to arrive?" Ianto asked, completely deadpan.

"I'd never hire Wolverine," Jack replied, matching Ianto's tone. "I wouldn't want any guy working here who looks better in jeans than I do."

"You never wear jeans," Ianto pointed out.

"It's the principle of the thing."

The key to winning these sorts of conversations with Ianto was to not be the first person to crack a smile. Jack almost always lost.

They silently held each other's gaze for a moment.

"Coffee God?" Ianto asked, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

Jack shrugged almost self-consciously. "I missed you," he explained simply.

Ianto's expression didn't change, but it did seem to soften slightly.

"I can have her on the system by the end of the day," he told Jack.

Jack nodded. Ianto stood, but Jack stopped him as he turned to go.

"Are we good?" he asked.

Ianto nodded curtly and left the office. Jack sat back in his chair and exhaled.

 

Buffy and Gwen had been having much the same conversation, albeit a little more round-about and less irritated, as they made their way through the Hub. Between short explanations of what went on where, and what the hell a Weevil was (Buffy thought it looked like a demon, possibly a cousin to the vampire - she _had_ to remember to tell Spike that one), Gwen slipped in a few questions about how Buffy knew so much about what they did.

Buffy, for her part, was surprised the woman managed to be so calm about it. But that probably came from working with the police prior to Torchwood recruitment, and non-Sunnydale police seemed to actually know what they were doing. And she wasn't the least bit surprised that Jack hadn't filled his team him on much more than 'newbie coming'; it didn't seem to be his style. She wondered if he'd gotten the memo that that _really_ wasn't going to fly with her. He already knew she didn't do guns.

When they reached the final stop on their seemingly endless tour - the place was huge!, Buffy felt her heart sink into her stomach. That couldn't be what she thought it was. It had to be extra filing space or something... Yeah, right, Buffy, filing space for dead bodies.

"These are the cryo-chambers," Gwen explained a little awkwardly, the thought of Tosh's body being in there making it a little more difficult to talk about. "Torchwood employees are put here after their death, and there are some living persons and aliens in there for safekeeping right now..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed the look on Buffy's face. Serious, hard, determined. And perhaps just a little bit scared. "You alright?" she questioned with genuine concern, reaching out to touch the other woman's arm.

Well. Jack certainly hadn't mentioned that.

Buffy glanced away from the rows of drawers to look at Gwen, unable to force any sort of light into her eyes as she put a tiny smile on her face. A mask, of course, one that her teammates would likely be quick to decipher. "Perfectly," she lied with ease. "Just thought of something I need to tell Jack."

"Oh," Gwen answered, her brow slightly furrowed as she surveyed the American woman. "Well, he and Ianto should be done with their meeting-" And she practically had to jog to keep up with Buffy as she hurried from the room.

 

Jack smiled brightly at Buffy as she strode into his office, but his expression faltered when he saw hers. "How did the tour go?" he asked warily.

She forced a big grin, one of those ones that looked kind of painful and did not ever bode well for the recipient. She heard Gwen coming up behind her and chose to ignore the other woman's presence.

"So you have aliens in the basement _and_ a morgue," she said with false cheerfulness. "What, were you just trying to make me feel more at home?"

Jack just looked at her for a moment. Of all the things to object to, he didn't think it would be the basic storage facilities. "And what did you _imagine_ we did with the dangerous aliens that we have to capture or kill?" he asked in a measured tone. "They have to be kept someplace. You didn't think we shipped dead Nostravites down to the coroner's office, did you?"

Buffy waved her hand dismissively. "No, no, no problem with that," she told him in a deceptively carefree voice. "Gotta put the oogies somewhere when they don't go poof, I completely understand that." She moved to sit in the chair in front of his desk, crossing her legs and resting folded hands on her lap. "What I _do_ have a problem with is the idea of _me_ eventually being put in one of those things." And then all the cheer and smiles were gone and she was completely serious.

Jack leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands in front of him on his desk. "The regulations that stipulate the storage of active employees killed in the line of duty are in place because, when active employees _are_ killed in the line of duty, they generally tend to be killed by things the outside world can't explain and should never see. It goes with the secrecy thing." He held up his hand for a moment, to indicate that his explanation wasn't the end of what he had to say. " _If_ , however, you object to it that strenuously, I believe we can come to an alternate arrangement, as long as it's laid out in advance and doesn't compromise the secrecy of our organization itself or the secrets that it protects. Feel free to draw something up and I'll be happy to look at it."

Buffy uncrossed her legs and leaned forward in her chair, looking Jack directly in the eye with a look that pleaded for understanding. "I understand the need for keeping secrets, Jack," she told him with a voice filled with reason, "really, you're not the only one who's had experience with secret organizations. But I told you about my friends bringing me back from the dead," there was a gasp from Gwen behind her and she could picture the woman's comically shocked expression, "and I refuse to let that happen again."

"Oh, _believe_ me," Jack said, not wavering from her gaze, "we don't do that anymore." He let out a small, scoffing laugh. "In fact, we couldn't if we wanted to. We don't have the equipment." He paused for a moment, then continued. "We _store_ the bodies there. If you're only worried about the one thing, we'll throw a 'Do Not Resurrect' clause into your contract, if you like. If, on the other hand, you really, _really_ don't want to be stored there at all, draw up an alternative, like I said." He shrugged. "I'm not sure what else I can offer, in that regard."

"Just because you're not the one doing it," she quietly told him, "doesn't mean someone else won't. I have it on good authority that 90% of the demon population in this dimension would be more than happy to bring me back just to torture me. Because I'm the Slayer." She could practically _hear_ Gwen's confusion from the doorway. "But thank you, I'll get the paperwork to you tomorrow."

Jack shrugged lightly. "Don't mention it. I promise I'll sign off on it a lot faster than most of the stuff Ianto brings me," he said with a wink. Then Ianto appeared in the doorway, as if summoned. He had several file folders under his arm and a tray in his other hand. He glanced around at his three colleagues, perhaps briefly wondering if he was interrupting something, then cleared his throat. He set the tray down on the desk, distributing the three mugs on it to Jack, Gwen and Buffy. He managed a small, somewhat less tight, smile in Buffy's direction when he handed her the nonfat mocha latte with chocolate sprinkles on top that he'd made her. Jack, perhaps, would have called it the peace-offering smile if he'd gotten to the point of labeling Ianto's smiles. It wouldn't be a time-consuming job, as Ianto Jones smiled neither easily nor often.

Drinks distributed, Ianto took the file folders out from under his arm and set the first one in front of Jack. "Expenses and requisitions from the last fortnight," he said. Jack nodded and put it to the side.

"You need to sign them, Jack."

"I will."

"This week."

Jack gave Buffy a small 'told-you-so' smile and shrug.

Ianto set the next folder in front of Jack. "This is the agenda and relevant documents for your conference call this afternoon."

Jack furrowed his brow in confusion. "What?"

Ianto rolled his eyes. "With the Prime Minister and the head of UNIT. At one o'clock."

Jack looked at his watch. "Really?"

Ianto took a careful, controlled breath. "I told you three weeks ago and reminded you yesterday."

"What was I doing at the time?" Jack asked, a slightly mischievous smile playing at the corners of his lips.

Ianto ignored the comment and opened the file. "UNIT wants to amend several clauses in the interagency cooperation agreement," Ianto explained. "Most of them concern the military and local law enforcement. I've highlighted the sections that concern us," he said, pulling one sheet of paper out of the pile and placing it on top.

Jack looked up at him a little flirtatiously. "What would I do without you?" he joked.

"It's a toss-up between dying of caffeine deprivation and being smothered under a mountain of empty pizza boxes," Ianto replied without missing a beat. "I'll set up the call in the conference room for you," he added.

Ianto turned to Buffy and placed the last folder in front of her. He opened it and indicated a large section of the first page that hadn't been filled in in his tidy handwriting. "You need to fill in this section," he told her. It was personal information. Birth date, bank details, next of kin, etc. The usual. He turned to the second page. "Then sign here," he told her, pointing to a line at the bottom.

 

Buffy took the offered coffee mug with an 'ooh' expression, taking a hesitant sip and then nearly melting into a happy puddle of happiness right then and there, all over Jack's floor. That had to be the best nonfat mocha latte she'd ever tasted in her entire life. And it had sprinkles! Little chocolate sprinkles. And had come with a smile that she knew meant things were at least a little better. She'd have to remember to thank Jack for that later, too.

Then Ianto was handing her paperwork and pointing things out and she had a much better idea of who Ianto Jones was. He was a Coffee God, a sarcasm fiend according to Jack's stories, and a stickler for paperwork. Smiling up at him, she sweetly said, "I'll get right on it, as soon as I'm finished building a shrine to your coffee greatness. Seriously. I've learned never to mess with paperwork-people, especially when they make insanely yummy coffee."

"In that case, we'll get along fine," Ianto said mildly. He looked at Jack. "One o'clock, Jack," he said, a slight warning tone in his voice as he turned towards the door.

"Alright, alright," Jack said, waving him off. "Just make sure there's an entire _thermos_ of the industrial strength coffee waiting for me," he instructed. Ianto nodded, but kept walking. "And paracetamol!" Jack called as Ianto disappeared out the door. 

He looked from Gwen to Buffy and back. "I hate talking to the Prime Minister," he said. "And I _really_ hate talking to the head of UNIT." 

Gwen didn't have to say anything or even give Jack a look before he looked at her defensively. "He thinks he's better than me!" Jack told her. "It's really annoying. And he's got bad hair," he added absently as he began riffling through the papers on his desk. "Where's my pen?" he asked nobody in particular.

Buffy watched him moving the papers and after a moment noticed a difference in weight as a few pages shifted; a second later she was plucking a pen from the chaos and holding it out to him. 

"I wasn't a big fan when I met him either," she said in response to the jab at the head of UNIT. "Definitely big-headed. He clearly thought he should be dealing with someone taller."

Gwen felt like her head had just fallen off and rolled over into the corner and her expression gave it away in plain detail. "When did _you_ meet the head of UNIT?" she asked Buffy, though demanded might have been the better term.

The blonde gave a shrug. "I was Head Slayer for six years," she explained, as if that said it all. "Lots of meetings with lots of boring people."

Jack cheerfully accepted the pen from Buffy and took a languorous sip of his coffee as she explained her credentials to Gwen. " _Head_ Slayer," he emphasized, shuffling through some forms Ianto had brought him to sign well before the ones that he'd set on Jack's desk that morning. "I'm not about to bring any old Slayer in here."

Buffy snickered and turned to fully address Gwen, happily sipping her coffee and making sure not to spill any on her paperwork. "Used to be the one and only," she told the other woman who looked as if her eyes might start spinning at any moment. "Long story short, we've got about 800 active girls now around the world."

Gwen's frown returned and she glanced at Jack with a question. "Girls?" Generally, if and when she ever thought about vampire slayers types, she assumed big burly men with crossbows, like in the movies.

Jack shrugged. He'd accepted the idea that Vampire Slayers were pretty much exclusively ninety pound girls, as Ianto had put it, pretty easily. "They're all girls," he simply said. "Now they can do some slaying and Buffy can have a change of scenery," he added, shooting Buffy a dazzling smile before returning his attention to the documents in front of him. After a few moments, he glanced up again, realizing Gwen was still standing there. "Thanks, Gwen," he said, though not unkindly. "You can go back to your work now."

Gwen stood there for a moment longer, looking like she was going to argue about something, then just shook her head a little, turned, and walked away.

Buffy watched her go, then returned to fully facing Jack. After another giant gulp of tasty coffee beverage, she took a deep breath and asked, "So bossman," there might have been a bit of teasing there, "what am I supposed to do after I play Paperwork Girl?"


	3. Day One, Take 2 - Part 3

**DAY ONE, TAKE 2 - Part 3**

Jack checked off the approval on the expense report in front of him, then signed it at the bottom with a flourish before looking up at Buffy. "Ianto will issue you with a security pass before the end of the day," he told her. "That will allow you to come and go as you please and you won't need an escort to get in like you did this morning," he said with a smile. 

His expression became a little more serious. "He'll also be issuing you a firearm. Don't yell at him, I told him to do it. I know you made your stance on guns pretty clear, but I want you to carry one and you'll have to know how to use it, even if you never do. Have you ever fired a handgun before?"

Security passes were something she was _very_ familiar with, though she doubted these would be magically encrypted like the ones at the New Council HQ, but the latter part of his words did not leave her smiling. "Yeah," she answered quietly, "once or twice. Don't worry," she quickly added, giving him a _look_ , "I'm a perfect shot. Kinda part of the Slayer package, we're automatically amazing with weapons."

"Good," Jack said simply. The corner of his mouth twitched up slightly. "Of course, any _other_ weapons you deem necessary in the execution of your duties will be entirely at your discretion," he assured her. "But if you need to purchase something, you have to get the requisition forms from Ianto _first_ , or he will _not_ reimburse you. And, just a heads up, sulking doesn't work on him... or pouting. Suggestive comments, on the other hand, will _distract_ him temporarily, but don't, ultimately, sway his decisions regarding Hub-related paperwork." Jack pretended to go back to studying his paperwork. "Just FYI."

Buffy managed to keep a straight face for all of twenty seconds and she was _very_ proud of herself for it. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind," she managed between giggles, having to set her mug on the edge of his desk so she didn't spill the delicious brown liquid everywhere. 

"Luckily, for everyone involved, I brought two giant trunks of weapons with me, and can have more magicked here from the NC with about ten minutes notice. Including that pretty pretty scythe I told you about," she explained with a beaming grin. She loved that weapon, and had only left it behind because the other Slayers would probably have more of a pressing need for it than she would, unless more alien demons popped up.

Jack nodded. "You can store those trunks of weapons here, if you want. I presume Gwen showed you the armoury? There's lots of space if you want them to hand."

Buffy nodded and picked up her mug again. "Armoury was seen, and found very lacking," she informed him. "You don't even have a rocket launcher! I had one of those when I was seventeen and you guys have been around for... what, a gazillion years? Tsk, tsk."

"First of all, Torchwood's only been around for 150 years or so," he corrected. "And second of all - you haven't seen our armoury in action. Some of those weapons are alien in origin. We have a couple that are the _size_ of an assault rifle with the _power_ of a rocket launcher."

He was quiet for a moment, signed another document and set it to the side. "Look, about your arrival... the issue Ianto had was with _me_ , not with you," he told her carefully. "I want to make sure you understand that. I really think you two will get along well, it just takes him a bit of time to warm up to people."

Her hands wrapped around the still warm mug and nodded slowly. "I get it, Jack," she told him gently, wanting him to know that she harbored no ill feelings toward his boyfriend. "Especially with what happened... Unless someone throws sharp objects at me without me asking for it, I'm not taking any of it personally."

Jack smiled and cocked his head slightly before leaning forward and propping his chin on his hand. "Are there circumstances in which you'd be inclined to ask for something like that?" he asked, intrigued.

She narrowed her eyes at him warily. "Maybe," she said slowly, turning her head slightly like she was waiting for him to reveal a motive. Well, she knew the motive - it was _Jack_. "I've kinda gotten out of a training routine with the mostly desk job and meetingsness. Back in the field, need to get back into shape."

Jack leaned forward a bit further to peer over the desk at her. "You look pretty in-shape to me," he said flirtily. "But you have my attention," he added as he leaned back in his seat again. "What do you have in mind?"

Buffy put on a completely innocent look and suggested, "I could beat you up. That would be helpful to training stuff."

Jack looked at her over his coffee mug as he went to take a sip. "I'm immortal, not stupid," he reminded her with a smirk before continuing in a more serious tone. "If there _is_ any equipment you need, just talk to Ianto. We have quite a few rooms in the sublevels that aren't currently in use. If you'd like to convert one for training purposes, that can be arranged."

Grinning like a kid at Christmas, she took a drink of coffee and swooned again. "That Ianto and I will definitely be spending a lot of time together," she told Jack with a teasing smile. "Amazing coffee _and_ the go-to guy for getting trainingness. The shrine will be up by the end of the week."

Jack gave her a mock warning glare and wagged his finger at her. "Watch it," he said. "That one's spoken for, so you better keep it business-like."

Jack glanced at his watch and sighed. "Speaking of which, he'll kick my ass in a very business-like manner if I'm late for this stupid meeting." He got up from his desk. "I'll show you your work station on the way past," he told her. He waved to the paperwork in front of her that she was in the middle of filling out and the coffee mug beside it. "You can take that to your new desk with you," he said.

He lead her out of his office to an empty workstation in the Hub's main area. Gwen had recently taken up Owen's old station outside Jack's office, while Ianto had retained his station where he'd squeezed it in between the coffee machine and the spiral staircase. It seemed to Jack that Ianto had carved out his own little bit of workspace and that made it more personal to him, even if it was smaller than some of the other ones that were now available. Jack parked Buffy at what had previously been Gwen's station. Ianto passed them with a large insulated carafe and some files, heading for the stairs to the sublevels.

"You can finish up your paperwork, then you can get started here," he told her, tapping a few keys on her keyboard to bring up a menu. "This is our alien database. You can get yourself acquainted with some of the interesting sorts of lifeforms you may be meeting." Jack glanced at his watch again. "While I go meet some extremely _un_ interesting lifeforms." He nodded towards his second in command. "If you have any questions, you can ask Gwen."

Buffy plopped into the chair in front of the very complicated-looking station and watched Jack do his typey thing to bring up the database. Looking up at him with wide eyes, she asked with a tiny hint of playful sarcasm, "Gee, teach, homework already? I feel special."

Then, smirking up at him over her coffee mug as he had done to her in his office, she gave him a little wave with her paperwork. "Have fun with your boredom, try to resist the call of naptime, and no plotting anyone's untimely demise," she told him in her perky Buffy manner. She was just glad _she_ wasn't the one going into that meeting.

Jack only snorted in response. He generally got _through_ these meetings by plotting the accidental, painful and untimely demise of everyone else involved until his eyes glazed over to the point that Ianto glared at him and/or kicked him under the table. He trotted down the stairs and burst into the conference room, where Ianto had a cup of coffee waiting for him and the carafe standing by. Jack dropped into his seat. "Let's get this over with," he said.

Buffy watched him go while trying desperately not to laugh; she managed to succeed until the door closed, then fell right into a batch of quiet giggles that lasted a full minute. When she'd composed herself, she got to work on filling in the blanks on the personnel sheet Ianto had given her, the boredom setting in fast until she finally signed her name with her own kind of flourish and set it all aside to give to the Coffee God later.

And then it was time for the fun stuff. Going through the many files on aliens that Torchwood had encountered in the past, she found herself wishing she had popcorn, and pondering whether a certain alien species was distantly related to Fyarl demons. Because that one kinda looked like Giles...


	4. It was a Pleasant Afternoon - Part 1

Jack emerged back into the Hub's main work area from the stairs to the lower levels with Ianto at his heels. They would have heard him coming before they saw him. He was ranting angrily at Ianto over his shoulder. "... which is _also_ completely unprofessional, by the way. I mean, who the hell does he think he is, anyway?"

"The Prime Minister?" Ianto ventured evenly.

Jack spun around to face Ianto momentarily. "We don't report to him," Jack said testily. "Sometimes I let him know what's going on, as a courtesy, _if_ I feel like it!" He turned and resumed his agitated march towards his office. "He sure as _hell_ isn't coming here, to my base, to look down his nose at _my_ operation and to try and _steal my staff_!" he said angrily.

"Jack..." Ianto began. Jack spun around and looked at him, his expression still very agitated, his eyebrows raised as if challenging Ianto. Ianto just gazed back at him, his expression inscrutable. "Maybe you should consider it, just for the sake of playing nice," he suggested.

"I don't need to play nice with him," Jack scoffed.

Ianto just raised an eyebrow at him.

Jack held his gaze for a very long moment, a silent battle of wills seeming to take place. "Fine," Jack finally said. "I'll consider it."

Ianto cocked his head very slightly in rebuke.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine. Set it up. But not right away. Make him wait."

Ianto nodded and moved over to his station.

When Ianto had moved away and the debate was over, Jack seemed to realize that everyone (well, Gwen and Buffy) were looking at him. He looked over at Buffy. "How's it going with that database?" he asked casually, as though he hadn't just been having a temper tantrum right through the middle of the Hub.

 

Okay, so, first thing Buffy had to do when she got off work that day: buy popcorn. There were just too many moments for which she was missing prime viewing comfort. She definitely needed popcorn, or at least some Chinese food. Moments of insanity always made her think of Chinese food -- she blamed Faith and Dawn for that, and too many boring Cleveland nights hiding from the Minis.

Blinking comically at Jack's casual tone, she gave him a big smile as she recovered from the shift in mood, and gesturing toward the screen in front of her, told him, "I think I know this guy's second cousin! He makes a _great_ vodka martini."

Jack gave her a smile and turned to head up to his office when Ianto called out.

"Jack," he said with a small note of urgency in his voice as he peered at something on his computer screen with a degree of consternation. "We're getting reports of something that witnesses are describing as a sort of Porcupine Man in a supermarket. Apparently this 'person' is wrecking displays, stealing food and assaulting anyone who comes near it. Three members of store security have been injured. They've called police."

Jack nodded and turned to Gwen. "Tell the police that we'll handle it." He looked at Buffy. "You wanted to kick someone in the head. How does Porcupine Guy sound?"

"Like just what the glorified therapist ordered," she answered with a grin, grabbing her coat from the back of the chair. That had been one of her titles for him during their 'incarceration' together in the hotel from hell; while they'd been stuck in the lap of luxury, trying to find a way out and the thing behind their abductions, they'd shared the talking and listening deal and he had done more for her than any therapist could ever hope to accomplish. Jack had understood things that few others had ever dreamed of comprehending, and even fewer had ever bothered to try. That was the main reason she had taken him up on his offer of a job with Torchwood -- being around Jack made her feel better about the part of her life where she was just Buffy and not the Slayer first and foremost.

Ianto looked at Jack with a modicum of concern as he grabbed the captain's coat. "She doesn't have a gun yet," he pointed out. He clearly wasn't sure this was a good idea when he hadn't even finished processing her.

"She doesn't _need_ a gun," Jack announced as Ianto helped him into the coat. "She'll have one, when you get around to it," he added. "Just in case. But she doesn't _need_ one."

Ianto frowned and looked over at Gwen.

Gwen was clearly sharing Ianto's trepidation over Jack's apparent loss of what sanity he'd ever possessed. Hastily struggling into the sleeves of her own dark coat, she voiced those concerns. "Jack, are you sure about this?" she asked in the voice she used when trying to talk some sense into her boss. "She clearly hasn't had experience with these sorts of things-"

"What part of the _Vampire Slayer_ memo didn't you get?" Buffy interrupted, giving the dark haired woman a look that said she was on an entirely different planet than Joking Land right now. "This is just another day at the office for me, _and_ ," she turned her gaze on Ianto this time, "Jack's right, I _don't_ need a gun." Pulling up the zipper on her leather coat, she started for the door. "Now can we get on with catching Quilly already?" she called back to them impatiently.

"Right, then," Ianto muttered as he pulled his own overcoat on. Rather than following Jack, Buffy and Gwen up to the Plass, he took the passageway that lead to the underground carpark and retrieved the SUV, pulling up in front of the watertower to pick the others up.

Jack got into the passenger seat, leaving Gwen and Buffy to get into the back. The inside of the SUV was as hightech as any workstation in the Hub and Jack glanced back at Gwen. "Keep an eye on the reports, make sure it hasn't moved." He didn't want to show up at the supermarket, coat billowing and Vampire Slayer at the ready, only to find that it was down the street mauling a kebab stand.

Watching the others in action as they sped through the streets of Cardiff, Buffy had to admit they had a pretty good setup going for them. Gwen's hands flew across the computer bits strategically placed through the back of the vehicle, and though they were clearly going beyond the concept of any speed limits, no one tried to stop them. It made her think back to her days on the streets of Sunnydale, having to work around incompetent officials and police who had never been good for anything, even crowd control. Life for the Scoobies might have been much easier if they'd had this sort of autonomy and not been charged with keeping secrets that couldn't be kept forever. But things had changed now, and the New Council was rising in the ranks as a sort of freelance consultation firm, recruiting young men and women from across the world to join their organization. Of course, they were still doing the average vamp slay and demon killing, but the big picture was a part of their world as well now.

"Andy must not be on today; police have arrived and are trying to _subdue_ it," Gwen informed Jack with an irritated tone. She may have been a former PC, but she'd learned to be very annoyed when the locals tried taking Torchwood matters into their own hands. It only managed to get people hurt or dead, and she'd much rather not have either.

Jack turned in his seat to look at Gwen. He was already agitated from his conversation with the Prime Minister and he so didn't need this bullshit. "Get them on the god-damned radio and tell them to disengage before somebody gets killed," Jack told her angrily. "Tell them if they want to do something, they can make sure the store is evacuated and keep the crowds well back. Tell them we are _on our way_ and if they're still engaging the creature when we get there, their immediate future in law enforcement is going to make them dream of a promotion to traffic warden!"

Ianto glanced over at him as he turned to face front again. "ETA," he said irritably.

"Three minutes," Ianto answered, gunning it through a red light.

Well, Buffy was glad to see she wasn't the only one to be annoyed by local interference. While Gwen conveyed Jack's message to whoever was in charge of the Stupid Squad, she leaned forward to ask a very unhappy looking Captain Jack, "So how is this gonna work exactly? I've done the team thing before and kinda messed it up, so a little direction beforehand would be nice so I don't squish any toes." In other words, if he wanted her to do anything in particular, it was probably a good idea to tell her _now_ before she went with her own unorthodox ideas.

Jack turned in his seat again. "We'll try and pen it in, he said making a sort of waving gesture between himself, Ianto and Gwen. "You just do what you do. If you can subdue it enough that we can take it alive, that's preferable, but if you're in danger, then slay away," he told her. "I'll be your backup if there's a threat of it overpowering you at all. Ianto and Gwen will keep it from exiting if it tries to escape." He flashed her a smile. "Is that specific enough?" he asked. "I like to leave a little room for creative freedom."

Gwen glanced over at them with worry, concern, and a tiny bit of fear, but wisely didn't say anything. Having Jack around always made things a lot more interesting, but she was almost afraid he was bordering insanity this time.

Buffy just answered his smile with one of her own. "Oh yeah, nice and roomy is totally of the good," she agreed. She was about to say something about him being pretty good backup, complete with friendly innuendo, when she saw a man go flying out a window up the street in a shower of glass. "I guess we're here," she muttered with raised eyebrows.

Ianto pulled the SUV up right in the middle of the police cars already parked outside. They got out, Ianto stopping briefly to check on the officer that was on the ground. Cuts and bruises, but - luckily for the officer - he wasn't badly hurt.

They all stepped past him. Ianto drew his gun as they walked and glanced at Jack, who nodded for him to veer off to the left as they entered. Jack then nodded for Gwen to go right. Jack and Buffy were going right up the centre, heading for where he could see the creature in the mirrors at the corners of the shop. He could also see Gwen and Ianto circling around either side. The creature was feeding on frozen meat from a wall unit at the back of the store.

Buffy could hear the police grumbling from outside the store, reluctantly leaving the fight to tend to their wounded prides. There were more than a few mutterings of _Bloody Torchwood_. It sort of made her feel like she was part of the actual Scooby-Doo team. Weird sensation.

As soon as she was in the creature's sight, she called out, "Hey! You gonna pay for that?" The creature, which really did look like it was half porcupine, turned with what sounded like a stuffed up snarl and lunged at her. She waited until it was within reach, then grabbed it, using its own momentum to toss it into a nearby shelf. She watched it warily for a moment where it was half-buried under boxes of food, then turned her head to glance back at Jack. "Was it seriously that ea-AGH!" she cried out in surprise as her legs were pulled out from under her and her back hit the floor hard.

Nope, not so easy.

She suddenly missed the old days of fighting fledgies. At least she usually got some good banter out of it. She didn't think aliens would do Buffy-banter. And now she was just annoyed.

Jack was about to say something in warning as Buffy turned away from the creature, but within a second, she was already on the ground. He stepped forward to help her, but saw the newly determined set of her jaw and stopped where he was. He could see Gwen and Ianto approaching from the sides in concern and held up his hands to keep them back. Buffy still had this one.

Her hands going up above her shoulders, she flung herself up from the floor, easily landing on both feet and turning into a kick to the creature's chest that sent it sprawling against a thick glass door. "Okay, I get that you're having a bad day, but that is _not_ a good excuse to destroy property," she informed it, which only earned her another snarl.

The fight continued with a few punches and a swipe of prickly clawed hands, and Buffy realize that the creature may have had strength, but it was sloppy and lacked any sort of grace. It was just like a fledging except for the banter, she decided, and she'd just have to make do with Jack for the missing part of the equation.

And then suddenly there were sharp teeth sinking into her arm. She'd gotten too close, was too out of practice, and the smell of blood had her grabbing the thing's neck with her other hand and twisting it sharply. It fell to floor in a limp pile, its face smeared with red and she just stood there staring down at it.


	5. It was a Pleasant Afternoon - Part 2

Jack moved to stand beside Buffy, looking down at the creature as well. "So, training room?" he said with a smirk and a little sideways glance. "You might want to get on that," he joked. He gently took her injured arm in his hand, but he could see the wounds were already beginning to heal. "Good job," he told her. "In all seriousness." 

He noticed Gwen and Ianto approaching out of his peripheral vision. He looked at Gwen. "Go keep local law enforcement out of here," he instructed before she could comment on Buffy's performance, the creature or anything else. "Ianto will tell you when you can let them back in." He turned to Ianto. "Get rid of that." Ianto nodded once and headed for the front door to move the SUV around the back and get the supplies he needed from it.

Jack looked at Buffy again and gave her hand a squeeze. "Gwen and Ianto are on now. You're done. Let's get out of here and let them work," he suggested, leading her out of the store, giving Ianto and Gwen each a nod, in turn, as he passed and heading across the street to a small coffee shop. From there, he'd be able to keep an eye on proceedings without being in the middle of them. He bought two coffees and guided Buffy to a table by the window. He sat facing it so he could see the front of the store. He noticed the SUV disappearing around the side of the store and he saw Gwen standing out front talking to a uniformed PC. He took a sip of his coffee before he looked directly at Buffy. "So?" he asked. "Thoughts?"

Buffy ignored her coffee when they sat down, instead reaching for a few napkins to clean trickles of red from her hand. The actual cut was mostly hidden by the sleeve of her coat, and she could feel that it had stopped bleeding (thank god for Slayer healing), but it definitely stung. 

"Thoughts?" she repeated, stuffing the stained napkins into her pocket before picking up her own coffee. "I think this job is going to be as hard on my wardrobe as my last one." She held up her injured arm to indicate the slightly shredded leather of her sleeve.

Jack laughed. "Yeah, discuss that with Ianto. He'll feel your pain; you've seen how he dresses. Also, he has a requisition form just for wardrobe-related casualties." Jack grinned. "I don't imagine your _last_ job covered these things... probably for lack of having a Ianto around to look after them."

The coffee wasn't even on the same planet of good as Ianto's, but it didn't taste like shoe, so she'd drink it. "My last job didn't even _pay_ me for the first seven years," Buffy retorted with a good helping of sarcasm. "This one's already starting out better."

Pausing a moment, she looked at him with wide eyes and innocently asked, "And are you sure I can't have Ianto? He keeps moving up that perfect scale."

"That's the only thing I can think of that would get you _fired_ ," Jack informed her with a smirk. 

He put his coffee cup down. "Actually, you just reminded me of the Prime Minister," he said. "You were privy to the end of our discussion about _that_. All this alien-fighting and I almost forgot about it for a minute," he said with a chuckle. 

"The Prime Minister of Britain was trying to hire my administrator away from me, right in front of my face. Can you believe the _gall_?" he complained. "He dismissed the head of UNIT when the agenda was done, then said he needed to discuss something else with me and said it was hard to get ahold of me. Then he offered Ianto a job at the PMO. Something about Ianto running circles around _his_ aide when it came to getting me out of meetings and shit. I couldn't pay attention to his exact words at that point because Ianto had already politely turned him down and he was pressing the matter and I was starting to contemplate jumping through the screen to throttle him. I mean, who _does_ that? So Ianto politely and irritatingly unflappably turns him down again and the Prime Minister tells him he drives a hard bargain and offers to double his salary," Jack recounted. " _That_ is just an irresponsible use of tax payers' money," he pointed out testily. "And _then_ he told him to give it some thought. And _THEN_ he announced he was coming here to visit my base. Which, I don't think so, right? But Ianto jumped in and said we'd get back to him on that because he could tell I was about ready to fly to London to retcon the Prime Minister and ship him to an island somewhere." Jack picked up his coffee. "Which I might still do," he grumbled into his cup. 

He looked at Buffy. "Don't tell him you're a Vampire Slayer," he warned. "He might need a new head of security. God knows he can't find his _own_ staff, he has to try to steal mine. He's been Prime Minister for six months, I've talked to him twice and suddenly he thinks what's mine is his. Boy is _he_ in for a surprise when he gets here." He frowned and glanced at Buffy again as his rant ended. "We don't report to him, by the way. You probably heard me mention that. That wasn't hyperbole; we really don't report to him."

Buffy listened to Jack's Rant Part 2 while drinking her not-shoe-y coffee and trying not to smile. Trying _really_ hard not to smile. But a smirk probably snuck in despite her best efforts. When he'd finally finished, she set her cup down and folded her hands on the table.

"One," she started calmly, wearing a very amused smirk, "he already knows who and what I am. Since the NC formed, we've tried keeping up relations with government big shots." Leaning in closer, she looked at the ceiling in exasperation. "I had to go to his _birthday_ function thingy three months ago, and _that_ , mister bossman, was real torture."

Settling back against the chair again, she continued. "And he did offer me the job. My turn down was probably a lot less everything than Ianto's, and the guy turned an embarrassed twelve shades of red. Course, he couldn't do anything about it, because the NC doesn't report to him either," she shared with Jack, mischief in her eyes. "We had to point that out. Along with the whole us saving their butts from apocalypses at least twice a year."

Jack just looked at her for a second. "Who _is_ this asshole?" he said finally, but laughed. Torchwood's autonomy from the government was also a sort of isolation and it was nice to see they weren't the only ones having these issues. _Or_ , it would seem, saving the world from apocalypses. Jack smirked. "When he comes 'round for this visit: If he tries to steal my Coffee God again, you have my permission to kick him in the head." Jack grinned. "Then we'll retcon him and ship him to an island somewhere."

Buffy laughed and gave Jack a big, bright smile. "Deal," she agreed, raising her coffee in a bit of a toasty salute, then turned to look out the window behind her. "The cleanup takes longer than the actual dealing with baddies stuff, huh?" she asked him, having a feeling that was how things generally worked around these parts.

Jack nodded. "Generally. We don't usually stick around for it, though. Normally, we'll go back to the Hub, then Ianto will return and take care of the scene on his own. This situation is too public, though. It needs to be taken care of _now_." He put his coffee down on the table. "And it's not done when all the alienesque evidence is removed from the scene. We have to go through the chatter that leaves this place - police reports, initial news reports, that kind of thing - and make sure nothing untowards gets out. That's not as hard as it used to be, actually. We still, for all intents and purposes, work in secret, but with all the large-scale alien activity that's been going on around the world lately, people tend to be less fazed by the idea of aliens and a lot of people in Cardiff have a vague idea of what we do and stay out of our way while we do it." He glanced across the street. "I say _most_ , because you get the odd idiot, even in the police force. They must have been recruited _after_ the Police Station Massacre that happened about four months ago." Jack looked at Buffy. "The senior-most officers were murdered by weevils, but the weevils were just being used as weapons. It was part of a coordinated attack on the city. You probably heard about the bombings. Everything else that happened was kept fairly quiet." He glanced down at his coffee. "That's when Tosh and Owen were killed. I told you about that."

Jack made it sound like Ianto did just about all the legwork for Torchwood. Well, he probably did. The Coffee God sounded a bit like Andrew, taking care of just about everything that came up... only less geeky awkwardness and more suave business-guy. It gave her an even higher level of respect for the man -- she'd never be able to do the things required for his part of the job.

"Yeah, you did," she confirmed, her voice quiet and gentle. There was a silent pause, the sounds around them even seeming to fall away, and then she said, "I told you about how we created all the mini-Slayers, but I was kinda hazy on the why part. The First wanted to wipe out the entire Slayer line, so there'd be nothing to stand in the way. Potentials and their Watchers were killed, all around the world, and the Watcher's Council was bombed. A few of the Potentials made it to Sunnydale, but we've had to entirely rebuild since then. New rules, new retirement plans..." She flashed him a grin. "Still saving the world on a weekly basis."

"That's what all this 'New Council' business is about, huh?" he commented. "I kinda th..." He stopped when Ianto's voice came over the comm system. He was ready to leave. Jack saw the SUV pulling back around the front of the store, outside the police lines. Gwen was already stepping towards it. Jack looked at Buffy. "Time to go," he said simply, standing up. He pointed towards his ear, even though he knew she couldn't see the device concealed there. "You'll get one of _these_ by the end of the day, too," he said with a wink and lead her outside. He opened the door for Buffy to get into the back, next to Gwen, before climbing into the front passenger seat himself. He gave Ianto a mischievous grin. "Do you think you can finish processing Buffy's paperwork before there's another crisis, or what?"

Ianto gave him a _look_ , but there was just the slightest hint of an amused smile on his face as he returned his eyes to the road.

Gwen turned to Buffy with a concerned look as the blonde woman settled into her seat and asked, "Are you alright? We saw it bite you but-"

"I'm fine," Buffy interrupted, giving her a half-genuine smile, the melancholy of the previous conversation still clinging to the edges of her mood. "Slayer healing, it's already stopped bleeding. Two days, tops, and I'll be good as new."

Gwen didn't look convinced, as evidenced by her glance down at Buffy's mangled coat sleeve.

Ianto parked the SUV, but didn't join them in heading back to the Hub. He still had to take care of the alien corpse in the boot. Jack could hear the rustle of plastic from behind the car as they walked away from it. He didn't pay much attention to where Gwen and Buffy headed once they were back inside. They'd be on hand if something happened. Otherwise, if they needed to unwind for a couple minutes after all the commotion, he didn't begrudge them that. He headed up to his office.

Buffy had walked with Gwen into the 'lobby' of the Hub, then watched the woman who was technically her superior (and boy was that a weird thought) head over to her own funky computer terminal and start typing up what looked like some sort of report. Yuck. She did not envy her in the slightest, and really hoped she didn't have to do anything of that torture anytime soon. She'd much rather get bitten by something again. Speaking of which...

Going down into the medical area of the Hub, which she figured was where Owen used to spend much of his time (based on what Jack had told her), and grabbed a few things before plopping down on the stone steps and peeling off her jacket. Which hurt a _lot_ , because dried blood had created a sort of seal between the lining of the coat and the injury. It kinda felt like she was waxing a scab, which just led to more blood on her jeans and more stuff to clean up with the sterile supplies.

 

"Looks painful," Ianto told Buffy, not really realizing that she might not be used to the quiet way he tended to move around the Hub. It had been a while since any of them had been truly startled by his seemingly sudden appearance. He dropped the alien corpse, in its bodybag, onto the autopsy table with a heavy thud. They didn't routinely autopsy aliens these days - not without a medic on duty - and they were well aware of how this one had died, but it still had to be catalogued for the alien database and then shipped down to the morgue for cold storage. The medical bay was still where that was done. The duty had simply now fallen to Ianto, who had always done the first half of it - retrieving the body from the scene - anyway. Ianto turned towards Buffy with his hands on his hips. "Need any help?" he offered, his burden now, literally, off his shoulders.

Buffy hadn't been paying attention; it was the first time in a long while that someone had been able to sneak up on her. She tried not to let it show, but it really rattled her. The desk job had not been her friend, and she was going to have to really work at it to get back to where she'd been before -- back to the place where a fledgling wouldn't have a chance of killing her. Because all it took was one bad night...

Tossing a bloody wad of gauze on the little metal tray she'd borrowed, she glanced up at Ianto with a small, almost hesitant smile, another first in quite some time. "Help would be nice, thanks," she said in a less confident voice than what she'd spoken in earlier. "I'm not really good with the bandaging. I can reset a dislocated shoulder with the best of 'em, but always was a little messy with the rest of it."

Ianto crouched in front of where she sat on the stairs and carefully took over where she'd left off, quietly cleaning and bandaging the wound. When he'd finished, he picked up the tray of discarded gauze as he stood. "I'll get you the form to have your coat replaced," he told her as he walked across the small room and dumped the tray's contents into a bin marked with a biohazard symbol.

Buffy flexed her arm a bit, testing the bandage, then gave him a full, genuine smile. "Thanks," she said, standing and picking up the aforementioned coat. It had been a favorite. She really should have known better than to wear it to work. "Slaying was always majorly hard on the wardrobe. I washed blood out of more outfits and lost more favorite pairs of shoes to demon goo than I like to remember. Kinda nice to have something be a little familiar," she joked, hoping to get at least a hint of amusement out of the man.

Ianto wiped off the tray with a sterilizing solution and put it back where it belonged before turning to look at Buffy. "Well, I don't think you'll find that there'll be a shortage of blood _or_ goo around here," he told her as he unzipped the body bag and took a PDA-type of device out of his pocket. "The drycleaner has stopped looking shocked at the stains I routinely have to ask them to get out of Jack's coat." He started keying information about the alien into the device. "On the other hand, it sounds like slaying was the main part of Slaying. We don't combat these sorts of creatures every day. Sometimes we just have to recover artefacts or trace unusual energy patterns or..." He shrugged. "Well, we do lots of different things. Might break up the monotony of kicking things in the head from time to time."

She shrugged with one shoulder, leaning against the wall and holding her coat in front of her. "Slaying was a lot of it, but we got some weird stuff that was a bit more than kicking in the headness," she said, but not in a dismissive way. "There was always lots of research involved when a Big Bad showed up, trying to find a way to stop it from its dastardly plans. I've had to deal with a demon who made the entire town burst into song, a genuine hell god with terrible fashion sense, and Dracula himself." 

She paused for a moment, then grinned. "Oh yeah! I was supposed to tell you. When Jack and I were stuck in the hotel from hell, we talked about those 51st Century Pheromones of his, and he got kinda offended when I told him one of the main reasons I found him attractive was because he had a thrall just like Dracula."

His eyes snapped up from the corpse and he just kind of looked at Buffy for a second, looking back down again as he smiled a small but genuinely charmed smile. "A thrall?" he echoed. "I suppose that's true," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. _Like Dracula._ He'd have to remember that later. He punched something further into the PDA before looking at Buffy again. "So you have some experience with research, then?" he confirmed. "We do a lot of it." He gave a thoughtful half-shrug. "I say 'we'. It's usually me. Gwen does a bit." He put the PDA in his pocket and gestured between the body and the vault in the wall. "Want to see how this works?" he asked. "I'm going to send it down to the alien morgue. Then I have to go downstairs and assign it a vault." He pulled a trolley over and slid the alien's body onto it as he spoke.

"Ooh, neat," Buffy said, tossing her mangled coat so it landed to hang on the metal railing. "I'm always up for a fun learning experience involving dead things," she joked with a little smile. People had always assumed she was an airhead and only good for being the muscle of the team because she found the book work boring, but some things she enjoyed. Anything involving physical action really, and things that kept her away from libraries. 

"As for research, yeah, I've had more than a few crash courses," she continued. "Wasn't always top of the class when it came to the stuff in demonic languages, that's my sister's schtick, but as long as we're not looking through dusty old books, I might actually be a bit helpful in that department."

Ianto opened one of the doors in the wall of the medical bay and pulled out the drawer, sliding the corpse onto it before pushing it back inside. He looked at Buffy as she finished talking. "Neat?" he questioned. "Not usually how people describe... well, _any_ of my work, really," he told her with a wry smile. He pushed a couple of buttons on a nearby computer terminal. "This is going to send it down to the morgue. I believe you've been down there already? It's this way," he said as he lead her up out of the medical bay and down the stairs to the lower levels. 

They walked into the grand Victorian morgue with its rows of deceptively antique-looking lockers that actually housed extremely advanced cryogenic technology. Level upon level of identical rooms sat on top of each other in the bowels of the Hub, each dedicated to a different category of corpse. Ianto pulled a metal trolley over to the side of the room and opened a door in the wall. He pulled the drawer out and heaved the creature's corpse onto the trolley to transport it over to the vaults that lined the main wall. He took the PDA out of his pocket and checked it for the vault number he'd assigned to it. 934. He opened vault 934, pulled out the drawer and lifted its lid. He looked at Buffy. "Cryogenic chamber," he explained. He lifted the alien into the chamber, closed the lid and set the controls before sliding it into the wall and shutting the door. He punched something into the PDA. "All done," he told her. "Any questions?"

Buffy blinked at the door in the wall, taking in the process, then shook her head. "All those years of daily strolls in cemeteries must really be paying off right now," she commented, looking around at the sheer number of doors lining the wall. " _So_ would have been squicked by all the dead things in this place if it weren't for the prior experience." She gave Ianto a quick glance before her gaze returned to the the drawer where the alien _she_ had killed now rested. "I'm definitely never going in there," she muttered quietly, the humor gone from her expression.

"That's between you and Jack," Ianto replied cryptically. "He's been known to make exceptions to the rules." He pushed the trolley back against the wall so it was out of the way, then lead Buffy out of the morgue and back through the hallways of the Hub's lower levels. 

"Seems you and Jack did a lot of chatting while he was gone," Ianto commented conversationally as they walked.

"Well, he was the most interesting person around at the time," Buffy replied with a little smirk. "And the thrall didn't hurt any. But really, after we figured out we both had weird stuff jobs in common, kinda made sense that we stick together," she explained with a shrug. "It took forever for the Big Bad to show so I could kick its ass, and there's only so much boring luxury I can take, so we passed the time by talking." Smiling softly, she told Ianto in a gentle voice, "His favorite subject was his team, especially you. He was really worried about you guys being on your own."

 

Ianto didn't say anything right away. It didn't surprise him that Jack had been worried about them on their own. They were short-handed even _with_ him there and he'd been taken so suddenly. It _did_ surprise him, a little, that Jack had talked about him more than Gwen, but he wasn't going to say that to the new girl, even if she did know more about them than he was entirely comfortable with at this stage in their acquaintance. Instead, he turned to the topic of their extratemporal prison. Jack had been short on specifics. "Boring luxury?" he asked.

Rolling her eyes at the topic of the conversation, she elaborated with a smile, "We were stuck in this huge luxury hotel, we're talking _twelve_ stars, everything provided for us, but only these creepy waiters and a concierge who didn't answer questions and disappeared when you went looking for them. Sounds like heaven until you get to the part where we couldn't _leave_ and didn't exactly sign up for the vacation package." She had to admit though, that had been one _comfortable_ bed, and oh the bathroom had been a thing of beauty.

Ianto nodded. "Jack didn't really... go into that," he said carefully. "He just said that people had been imprisoned there from all over time and space." He glanced over at her. "How did you get out, in the end?"

Crossing her arms, Buffy frowned a little as she tried to figure out how to word it. "We started noticing that there were little things wrong with the hotel," she started slowly. "People going missing, things being there that weren't supposed to be... The stuff started adding up and... we went searching, eventually found the portal out of there." She cringed apologetically. "Sorry, it was really kinda complicated and I'm not the best storyteller. That's more the Watcher than Slayer deal."

He nodded. Well, it was more than he'd known before. They reached the main part of the Hub and he went to his station, taking a couple papers out of the drawer. He handed them to Buffy. "The forms for your coat," he told her. "And I'll be by to pick up your mug in a couple minutes. It's about time for another round of coffee."

"Thanks," she said as she took the forms, holding them carefully so she didn't crinkle them. It had always bothered her when people had crinkled paper's she'd had to work with, because really, did people have no regard for the paper-pushers who kept things running? Well, she hadn't before she'd become one herself, however glorified a position it had been.

"And, uhm," she started, pausing and glancing between the papers and him, finally settling on that handsome face, "thanks for showing me how some of this place works. I appreciate it." She wouldn't have gotten the offer before. Even after all the years she'd spent growing up, trying to prove that she could be more than what everyone saw her as, it had never had much effect with the people closest to her. But now she was at Torchwood and being given a fresh start. It was a chance for her to grow, get out from under the thumb of her friends and a destiny she'd been battling with for over a decade. She was beyond grateful to Jack for the opportunity, and to Gwen and Ianto for not immediately shoving her away.

He looked at her for a moment. This was the second time in the last half hour that she'd looked less than confident... nervous, even. When she'd arrived, she'd exuded the same kind of confidence as Jack and he wondered if these little lapses in that were as rare as they were with Jack. He offered her a wry half-smile. "Any time you feel like being bored half to death, I'll be happy to walk you through whatever I'm doing at the moment," he assured her.

She grinned at his answer and nodded happily, every trace of anything but brightness gone from her expression and attitude. "Deal!" she said, then turned to head back to her own station. Looking over her shoulder, she informed him, "And I'm already planning that shrine! Every Coffee God should have one."

He stopped and turned, stepping over to her station and picking up her mug, almost as a pretense for the visit. " _That_ is an exaggeration," he told her in a controlled voice that was meant to hide the fact that this whole 'Coffee God' thing had him slightly flustered. "One that I'm certain Jack is responsible for," he added, trying to ignore the fact that he was flushing slightly. "Probably brought on by a combination of your odd imprisonment and his caffeine addiction." Ianto looked at his watch. "Speaking of which... I'd best get on that. So." He turned to go back to his own station, then turned to look back at Buffy. He held up her mug "Same again or do you have a request?"

Buffy decided that he was adorable when he was all flustered like that, and some mischievous part of her wanted to make it her mission to keep him that way. Maybe it'd become her pastime when they weren't off dealing with alien mojo... Just something to keep things interesting, of course. She doubted that Jack would mind.

"Definitely the same," she answered, grin still in place, if a bit more amused now. "Whatever magic you worked before was _amazing_ , best thing I've ever tasted, and you go through a lot of coffee when hopping time zones to deal with Slayer business."

"Right. Probably," he stammered, rolling his eyes inwardly at himself. New Girl probably thought he was socially retarded already. The thing was, he knew his coffee was good. He worked hard to make it that way. He just wasn't used to the effusive praise. He wandered over to Gwen's station, answering her smile with a nod as he picked up her mug, then went into Jack's office to get his.

Jack looked up with a warm smile when he saw Ianto come into the room. "How're things going?" Jack asked. "Corpse taken care of?"

"Yep," Ianto answered, plucking Jack's mug from amongst the clutter on his desk. "Buffy gave me a hand."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "How did you coerce her into _that_?" he asked.

Ianto shrugged. "Didn't have to. She was interested." His eyes skimmed over the papers covering Jack's workspace. "You're way behind," he pointed out.

Jack waved it off. "So you're getting along?"

"With Buffy?" Ianto confirmed. Jack nodded. Ianto answered with a half-shrug. "Guess so." He studied Jack for a moment. "What did you tell her about me?" he asked, but there was no frustration or accusation in his tone this time.

Jack cocked his head a bit suspiciously. "Why? What did she say?"

"Nothing in particular."

Jack was the one to shrug this time. "Just normal conversational stuff."

"She knows about us." It was more of a statement than a question.

Jack nodded.

That was all Ianto really wanted to know. It _did_ make things easier if everyone knew. It was certainly much easier than when it had been a secret. He looked back down at Jack's desk. "Are you finished with any of those?" he asked.

Jack picked up a pile to his right and handed them wordlessly to Ianto. Ianto gave him a nod and headed out of the office and back across to his station to make the coffee.


	6. It was a Pleasant Afternoon - Part 3

Buffy was keeping herself busy until the yummy coffee showed up by working on the forms Ianto had given her about her coat. She'd noticed Gwen glancing her way from the other woman's station, and finally the Slayer set down her pen and turned to fully face her. "Need something?" she called over, ever the impatient sort and just wanting to get to the point already.

Gwen felt for a moment like she'd been caught trying to sneak out of the house when she was grounded, but then she reminded herself that there was nothing wrong with being equally concerned and curious, and she wasn't going to be beaten up for asking a few questions. And when had that ever been an issue, anyway? Buffy had been nothing but sweet since she'd arrived, and Gwen being Gwen, she just wanted to make sure the younger woman was alright and really knew what she was getting into.

Standing, Gwen made her way over to her old station, where Jack had set Buffy up, and slid her hands into the back pockets of her pants. "So... those were some pretty impressive moves you had out there," she commented, looking as awkward as she felt. "How's your arm? I know I asked earlier, but..." she trailed off.

Buffy smiled up at the dark-haired woman, her kind nature reminding her of a high school Willow. "The arm's fine," she told her with full confidence. "Ianto helped me patch it up, and I was serious when I said I'll be good as new in a few days."

The Welsh woman clearly wasn't convinced about something. "And... all of this, the... healing, and the fighting...," she started, having to pause and think it through, still trying to wrap her mind around it all. "It's all because of you being a Vampire Slayer, yes?"

The blonde nodded with a knowing look. "Don't worry, not everyone can be all accepty right away," she assured Gwen. "I get it."

Gwen didn't. Which was probably the problem. Wearing a slightly dazed and rather confused and uncertain expression, she started back to her station, telling Buffy, "Right... I'll just let you get back to..." She finished with a gesture and then tried not to hurry off. That certainly hadn't gone as planned.

Ianto paused on his way to Buffy's station, watching Gwen as she stammered her way back to her own workspace. He just looked over at her for a second, then carried on. When he got to Buffy, he held out a small plastic badge in a small plastic bag. "Your security pass," he told her. "Carry it in your pocket. The Hub's sensors will recognize it when you approach and you'll be able to open the doors." Once she'd taken that from him, he handed her the gun. It was the same model as both Gwen and Ianto used. "Your gun," he said unnecessarily. "I expect you already know your way around that." He handed her an extra clip. "You need to keep extra ammunition with you as well," he told her. "Regulations." He took one more small plastic bag out of his pocket and held it out. It had a tiny electronic device inside. "This is your communicator," he told her. "It fits right inside your ear. You need to wear it at all times when you're on duty." He watched her with her hands full of the items for a moment. "Any questions?"

Buffy looked at each item as it was handed to her, though the gun was given a bit more distaste than the others, then looked up at Ianto with an almost pouting expression. "Sure I can't just get by with a pointy piece of wood?" she asked, only half joking. She still was really against the gun idea. "I mean, really, I break cell phones, and you expect me to keep _this_ in one piece?" she shook the bag with the earpiece to emphasize her point.

Ianto crossed his arms, but there was a slight hint of humour in his tone. "Yes," he said flatly. "To both questions." His expression grew into a bit of a smirk. "And you'll have a 'cell phone'," he said, using the American term to echo her own words, "by the end of tomorrow."

Sighing overdramatically, she slumped back into her chair. "You may be a Coffee God," she told him with a hint of pout still in place, "but you're clearly just as mean as him," she nodded towards Jack's office. She had to salvage the moment somehow, so perhaps a bit of flustering was in order.

"Well, he had to learn it somewhere," Ianto told her breezily before taking her empty coffee mug off her desk and sweeping it away with him.

Jack was strolling over just in time to catch the tail-end of the conversation. "Who had to learn what where?" he asked. Ianto didn't answer as he brushed by him with a small cryptic smile and Jack just shrugged and turned to Buffy. "I see you've been processed," he said happily. He looked at his watch. "And in about half an hour you can say you made it through your first day. How's it been?"

Oh yes, Buffy definitely liked Ianto. Too bad they were both taken. Maybe she'd ask for a pocket-sized version for Christmas.

Dumping her handful of stuff on the little table, she looked up at Jack with a half-smirk. "You ever see _Speed_?" she asked in answer to his question. "It was kinda like that bus ride. Thrilling, slightly confusing, and leaves you wanting a sequel that can't possibly be as good as the first movie."

Jack grinned. "Sometimes sequels are even _better_ than the original," he told her. "Give it a chance." Not that he thought she wouldn't. She'd gotten into their routine pretty quickly.

She grinned as well and waved her hand dismissively. "My life's always been too out there for a movie anyway," she admitted. "I'm thinking one of those old radio dramas, where they could write anything and not have to worry about it looking amazing on a screen." Looking around, she nodded and decided, "Yep, Torchwood, the radio show. Sounds about right to me."

Jack laughed. "You mock," he told her. "I remember those radio shows. They were the pinacle of entertainment technology, you know." 

He leaned on her desk, his expression becoming more serious. "I want you to do the standard firearms qualification test on the firing range tomorrow," he explained. "I don't have any doubts that you'll pass it first try, but _some_ things should be done by the book."

All joking thrown out the window again, she nodded, looking down at her lap again instead of at him. "Fine," she agreed, knowing it was pointless to argue. If she wanted this to work, she had to remember how to follow orders and give a little instead of being the leading stone she'd become in the final days of the war with the First.

"Thank you," he said firmly. He knew how she felt about the issue. It wasn't even the first time he'd had someone in the Hub who felt the same way, but Martha had never joined the team full-time, so he let her get away with it. It wasn't just about Buffy's safety, though he certainly cared about that. It was also about her ability to protect the team. She needed to have a projectile weapon. Just in case.

He turned to address everyone. "Alright," he told them. "Good work today. See you tomorrow." He turned back to Buffy. "Are you okay to get home?" he asked. "Do you need a ride?"

She shook her head, slipping into her coat and starting to pile her new things into her pockets until she could figure out a better arrangement. "I can walk," she told Jack with a shrug. "Need to get a feel for the city, anyway. Won't be very helpful if I get lost all the time." She just hoped that it wasn't raining again. Her mood wasn't going to get any better if she had to walk back to her apartment o' boxes while being utterly soaked again.

Not that she really wanted to go it alone that night. It was a sort of self-imposed isolation, something she'd always done when things got a little too complicated, giving herself space to try figuring out things. Maybe it really wasn't the best plan in these circumstances, but she really didn't have another one just yet.

Jack could see Gwen putting on her coat in his peripheral vision. He could hear Ianto cleaning the coffee machine. "Alright," he said. "If you're sure." He smiled. "Hey, maybe one of these afternoons, if it's quiet, we'll do a little walking tour of the city." He stepped back to allow her space to leave. "Go," he told her with a chuckle and a wave towards the door. "Get settled in, but if you need anything, just call me, okay? You have my number."

Smiling in return, she gave him a little mock salute and said, "Yes, sir!" Followed by a good dose of snickering.

Grabbing the small pile of papers she'd been working on, she stuffed them in a folder and, giving the team a wave, headed for the elevator.

He watched Gwen follow Buffy out. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Gwen and couldn't really tell if the two women had gelled. He turned and looked over at Ianto, who was carefully cleaning the coffee machine with that look of intense concentration that appeared on his face when he did even the most routine of his duties. Jack smiled to himself and walked back up to his office. When Ianto finished his work, that was where he would look for him. In the meantime, maybe Jack could make a dent in the paperwork he was supposed to sign.

Gwen and Buffy rode up to the surface in silence, Buffy fiddling with things in her pocket while Gwen tapped her hand against her leg, trying to figure out something to say. She wanted to get past the awkwardness so she could get to know her new teammate.

Finally, as they stepped outside into the chill, damp air, the dark-haired woman finally asked, "So did you have a good first day?"

Smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way, because really she wouldn't bite, Buffy shrugged a little and said, "Yeah, was pretty good. Definitely eventful. I don't think this job will be boring, and that's what I was hoping for."

They stopped to look out over the water, their hair blowing in the breeze, both of them glad the weather had decided to give them a respite from the rain. "I hadn't imagined Vampire Slaying would be a 'boring' occupation," Gwen commented, starting to ease into comfortable conversation. Finally.

"The past few years, I'd been doing more desk stuff, meetings and decision-making, than actual slaying," Buffy explained quietly. "I was ready for a change of scenery. Jack offered that to me."

"And you're glad you've taken the job, even after seeing what we do?" Gwen questioned further, summing up the young woman beside her, who at times seemed like a teenager, and at others she had a look about her... something that made her appear as ancient as Jack.

"Oh yeah," the Slayer answered with a smile. Turning to head off in the opposite direction, she gave Gwen a little wave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gwen."

"Yes... See you tomorrow," Gwen replied, still feeling at a loss when it came to the other woman. But she had a slightly firmer grasp on the situation now, at least, and she was starting to like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for shortness. We just wanted to finish up Buffy's first day with Team Torchwood.


	7. Interlude: An Evening Not So Alone

Buffy tossed her keys onto the kitchen counter, setting the folder with the forms beside them. It had seemed like a long day, her first day of work at Torchwood-3, but stepping into the darkened apartment that was full of boxes and haphazardly placed furniture, the night before her seemed even longer. Her list of things to do seemed to stretch into eternity: unpack suitcases, rearrange furniture, go through all the boxes to make sure Andrew had sent the right things...

She took a glance in the cabinets and, nope, nothing there. She'd have to go grocery shopping at some point as well, get some things that were at least somewhat nutritious to make up for all the eating out she'd doubtless be doing. Funny how a few weeks of nothing but junk food could really make a person crave an apple; she'd been that way ever since Sunnydale.

And yet all the wanted to do was flop onto that couch into the living room that had been spared the box vomiting. So she did. Still wearing her coat, the gun tried to mold its imprint onto her stomach and she grumbled, pulling it out of its pocket and letting it drop to the floor beside the couch. Much better.

Twenty minutes later, she hadn't moved from that spot and very nearly asleep, the jet-lag of crossing more than a few time zones finally catching up with her, but then her phone decided to ring. Or rather, it decided to buzz in her pocket, the vibrations eliciting a surprised shout as she tried to get away from it in a half-awake state... and promptly rolled right off the couch.

Smooth, Buffy. Real smooth.

"Ow," she said as she flipped the cellphone open, a cheap thing that Dawn had found for her, with few buttons for her to press and possibly kill. Buffy could navigate her way around a computer fairly well these days, but it was the smaller electronics that found themselves being Slayer casualties.

She sat up with a grin as the other person answered with a laugh, correctly guessing that she'd been falling asleep somewhere and had her phone on vibrate. This boyfriend of hers really did know her all too well.

"Hey, that's only an every _other_ week thing, thanks very much," she protested jokingly, climbing back up onto the couch, curling up in the corner as if she could pretend he was there with her and not on an entirely different continent.

"It was first-day-ey," she answered his question with a shrug. "There was paperwork, an alien adventure in a supermarket... Yes, I kicked the alien's ass... Yeah, it kinda bit me, but I'm fine, everything is hunky-dory over here in the land of wannabe tweed."

She pouted and glared at the wall. "No... What do you-..." She sighed and muttered, "No, everything's still in boxes. And no groceries."

Suddenly there was a buzzing from the door's intercom, and a chuckling from the other end of the phone. Getting up, she went to the door and pushed the little button. "Yeah?"

A guy's voice came over the speakers. "It's Jubilee Pizza, with a delivery for... B. Summers?"

A smile spread across her face. "Thank you," she told the love of her life on the other side of the world, pouring an indescribable amount of affection into those two words. Flipping the phone closed, she found that her evening was suddenly looking much more promising.


	8. Adjusting

Jack was walking across the Hub, his first cup of coffee in one hand, when the cog door rolled open. He looked up sharply. Buffy was looking a little worse for wear. 

Ianto was already in (alright, he hadn't, technically, left - unless you counted the fact that he'd gone out early that morning to buy milk for the coffee) and Gwen hadn't yet arrived. 

Jack grinned as Buffy stepped over the threshold. "Let me guess," he said with a laugh, "jetlag?"

She hadn't gotten more than three steps inside the door when Ianto was putting a clearly much-needed coffee in her hand. He'd seen her coming on the CCTV. He gave her the drink and slipped back to his computer terminal, all without a word.

"How did it go last night?" Jack asked, stepping to the side to allow her to get to her own desk. "Did you manage to find your way home without getting lost?"

"Mmm," she groaned sleepily, feeling like someone had hit her in the head with a mallet. And she really did know how that felt, so it was an apt comparison! "Got home, wasn't killed by boxes. Managed to get three of them unpacked, ate free pizza... I declare it a win," she mumbled out, carefully plopping into her chair and setting her messenger bag on her desk.

Taking a long drink of the coffee beverage Ianto had given her, she once again nearly melted right into the floor. "I love Ianto Jones' coffee making skills!" she called out, knowing the man in question would hear her and hoping it landed him back in Flusterland.

Ianto looked over at Buffy, startled, then realized she was looking at him. His eyes flitted briefly to Jack, who looked entirely too amused for Ianto's liking and would clearly be no help at all. He turned his gaze emphatically back to his computer screen, trying very hard to pointedly ignore the both of them, for all that he could practically hear Jack snickering into his coffee. Great. Now there were _two_ of them. He wondered if his face was as flushed as it _felt_.

Jack leaned over Buffy's desk slightly. "Well done," he said. He glanced at his watch. "And within five minutes of arriving." He straightened up again. "Take twenty minutes to settle in and finish your coffee, then you're coming down to the firing range with me," he told her. He didn't wait for a reply before turning to take his daily morning tour of the vaults to check on their 'guests'. It had been neither a question nor a suggestion.

Buffy scowled at his back as he retreated, and she wondered for a moment if he could dodge flying objects as well as Xander -- the carpenter-turned-Watcher had learned that skill very quickly when he'd been put in charge of dozens of teenage girls with lots of mood swings and chocolate cravings.

After a few minutes of sipping the heavenly coffee and wandering through the alien database (she found another suspiciously demony alien), she sighed and heaved herself out of her chair that was surprisingly comfortable when suffering from jet-lag. Grabbing a file folder from her bag, she walked over to Ianto's station with an innocent smile. "Oh Ianto... How ya doin'?"

Ianto turned his attention away from his screen long enough to look at her suspiciously. The smile alone made him certain she had some kind of evil ulterior motives. "Why?" he asked, drawing the syllable out warily.

Laughing at his very appropriate reaction, she waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna terrorize you anymore right now," she said between giggles, then pulled a few pages out of the folder. "This is what you gave me for my coat," she said, handing them to him. "And I was told to talk to you about stuff for a training room, down in one of the little cubbies not being used."

"Stuff for a training room?" he said a little distractedly as he read over her form. "You can fill out paperwork," he said, clearly a little impressed. "I guess I'll let Jack keep you," he told her, sliding the papers into a folder on his desk. He turned to look at her again. "What kind of stuff?" he continued from his previous train of thought, then held up a hand before she could say. "Wait." He took another set of forms out and gave them to her. "Just fill these in."

She'd gotten excited for a moment when he'd asked her about the kind of stuff, but then she just narrowed her eyes at him and took the forms. "...'kay," she finally said, turning and continuing to give him the Buffyesque Evil Eye until she was halfway back to her desk. At that point she just couldn't take it and had to stumble back to her chair amid another fit of giggles. He really was way too much fun.

Ianto looked over at her, suppressed a smile without a great degree of success, shook his head at her, then turned back to his work. He heard Jack coming before he appeared.

"Buffy," Jack called from the doorway. "Down here," he said, waiting for her at the top of the stairs. Time for her firearms proficiency.

Sighing like a kid being carted off for the first day of school, Buffy gulped down the last of her coffee and left the mug and her new paperwork on her desk for when she returned. She sent a pout Ianto's way, hoping to get another smile out of him, then trudged over to the stairs. "Let's go," she said with a resigned tone and a broad gesture of an arm.

Ianto gave her a slightly amused raised eyebrow and watched them disappear into the sublevels of the Hub. He glanced up at the CCTV. Gwen's car was in the carpark now. She'd be arriving any moment. He started her coffee.

Jack lead Buffy down narrow corridors to Torchwood's firing range. He didn't say anything as he allowed her to enter in front of him. An array of paper weevils were scattered through the tunnel-like room and a variety of firearms were on the table. "Don't worry about those," he told her, picking up a pair of yellow-tinted glasses and handing a pair to her. "Your personal sidearm will do just fine."

She looked at the glasses with distaste before slipping them on, then pulled out her 'personal sidearm' as he called it (she called it the Gun of Personal Doom) from where she'd kept it at the small of her back. It was the only place it felt natural, since she'd spent so many years toting around a stake in the same way. 

"I can do those too, if you want to be _really_ thorough," she commented, hoping she didn't sound as pouty and sarcastic as she felt. She couldn't help it -- she'd do what he'd asked, she understood that part of the game and was willing to play by the rules, but that didn't mean that she was ever going to grow to be happy about it.

"How do you want me to do this, exactly?" she questioned, wanting to get it over and done with so she could get back to bothering Ianto and planning her personal Torchwood space.

He only raised an _unamused_ eyebrow at her comment about the other guns and plucked her gun from her grasp as she finished talking, setting it down on the table.

"Alright," he said calmly, but without any of the lightheartedness that usually coloured his tone. "Let's have this conversation. You don't like guns. I get that. I've worked with people who object to them before. I don't have a problem with that philosophy on principle. _However_ , I have to think of the safety of the people on this team. I think you understand your role here and I believe you're aware of what lead to it." He made a vague gesture towards the ceiling. "They're _not_ fighters. They were brought here for other skills. Yes, they've been trained to defend themselves, but it's not in any way their natural inclination. Of course, you have to protect yourself, first of all. You're no good to yourself or anyone else if you're dead. Your next duty is to protect _them_. Now," he said, spreading his arms to encompass the table, "you have no gun. You come on the scene and there's a situation. It's the critical moment and it's three metres away," he said, pointing to one of the paper targets in the tunnel. "You have exactly two seconds to take care of it before someone dies. What are you going to do about it?" He crossed his arms. "Gunless," he reminded her. He looked at her for a moment. "Because you're fast, but you're not _that_ fast."

Buffy stared at him with a storm building inside her, a hurricane of calm anger that brought the Slayer to the surface and left her wanting to break something. She waited until he'd finished speaking to find her own voice, quiet and calm and clearly holding in a great deal of emotion. "What do I do about it?" she repeated, her fingers tightening around the gun in her hand. "I make sure _I'm_ the one that dies."

Grabbing the gun from the table and stepping forward, her hands were a flurry of movement and she took only half a second to aim before pulling the trigger. The bullet hit the target at dead center and she turned back to him with fury in her eyes. "It's what I do, Jack. I protect people and I _die_ for them, because it's what I was born to do. 'Death is my gift,'" she spat out, not bothering to try shielding him from the cold fury she'd turned on her closest friends whenever they had questioned her motives or her strength. 

"You think I don't know why I'm here?" she all but demanded of him. "I've gone from one death wish to another, and I'm okay with that. I will do whatever I have to to protect your people, whether I like it or not. Don't you _dare_ question that about me again or we will have _serious_ problems."

He watched her carefully as she spoke. His expression didn't waver and he didn't flinch when she pulled the trigger. "Yeah, I just have one issue with that," he told her firmly. "There's no 'dying instead' clause in your contract. It's not an option, and if you think it _is_ , then you weren't listening." He stepped back, turning slightly to face the array of targets instead of Buffy. He turned the conversation back to business, effectively closing the discussion. "Since this test is in the interest of accuracy, rather than humanitarianism," he announced, "just shoot all the targets in the head, then you can go back upstairs."

Turning back away from him, she did as told, squeezing the trigger in quick succession and watching each bullet slice through paper in just the right spot every time. It was easy for a Slayer to fire a gun and not miss their target, but the weapon felt strange in her hand. She and her abilities were ancient and it was new and _wrong_. But she was still a perfect shot.

She tossed the pair of glasses on the table as she went past, heading out of the room without another word.

Jack didn't follow her out of the firing range. He took his time removing the damaged targets and replacing them with fresh ones for whoever used the room next. He could have left the job for Ianto, but he felt like doing it. When the room had been tidied up and was ready for its next use, then - and only then - did he head upstairs. He passed through the main area of the Hub without speaking to or smiling at anyone, walking up into his office. Ianto glanced at Gwen, who clearly had no idea what the problem was, then looked at Buffy, who had also been uncharacteristically quiet since she'd rejoined them.

"Went that well, did it?" Ianto remarked. His voice was soft, but in the relative silence of the room, it carried.

Buffy had been sitting at her desk, staring down at the empty space in the forms Ianto had given her, when she heard Jack come up the stairs. She hadn't looked and he hadn't paused. It was only when Ianto spoke that she looked up, a sadness replacing the anger in her eyes. "Just about," she confirmed quietly, finally picking up a pen to start writing in requested items.

Ianto made Buffy and Jack each a coffee, silently setting Buffy's on her desk before heading up to Jack's office. Gwen caught his eyes on the way past. One of them had to go. His gaze told her that he had this one. 

He put the mug on Jack's desk and sat down. Jack was intently signing forms. When he realized Ianto wasn't leaving, he spoke - still without looking up. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked without any actual pleasure in his voice.

"Well, you're both doing your paperwork. I probably shouldn't complain," Ianto said smoothly.

Jack put his pen down and looked at Ianto, finally. "We had a small difference of opinion."

Ianto nodded sagely. "Ah. The true first test."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Oh? What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. There was no accusation in his voice. Just a tiny amount of defensiveness, if anything.

"Professional differences of opinion tend to end with you laying down the law, and well they should. You can be as good-natured as you like the rest of the time, but you still have to be the boss at the end of the day. If she can handle that without walking, then she can handle working here."

Jack considered that for a moment. "Am I too easy-going the rest of the time?"

Ianto shrugged. "I'm not complaining," he replied, standing up.

"Can you send Buffy in, please?" Jack asked, picking up his pen again. He turned his attention back to the paperwork.

Ianto caught Buffy's eyes as he left Jack's office and nodded towards its door to let her know Jack wanted to see her.

If Jack hadn't asked for her, Buffy would have gone herself before too long. Sitting at her desk like an obedient worker was just code for extensive thinking on touch subjects. She tended to do that quickly these days -- the older she got, the more precious time seemed. There had been too many chances to put things right that had been wasted because of the Summers' Stubbornness.

Pulling another folder from her bag, she took a deep breath before walking up to Jack's office, silently opening and closing the door behind her. Approaching the desk, she quickly held up a hand and hurriedly said, "Before you say anything: I'm sorry. For how things happened earlier. I just... I get very defensive when people question me like that, because it's been happening for years, but while I don't regret what I said, I shouldn't had acted like that."

"And," she continued in a quieter voice, carefully setting the folder on the desk in front of him, "this is what we talked about yesterday." 

The forms about procedures following her death. The request was for either Torchwood or the New Council to dispose of her body via cremation, and for the ashes to be given to her sister, Dawn Summers, for safekeeping within the protected New Council Headquarters.

And then there was an explanation as to why. A very _detailed_ rationale that had taken her the better part of the night and almost the entire pizza to create, and then an early call to her sister for a little proofreading. It detailed the events surrounding all three of her deaths and resurrections, including things that she'd previously been pretty vague about with Jack. She wanted there to be no doubt for him when he signed that last page.

Jack nodded as he took it. He made a clear space by shifting some of Ianto's paperwork and set it down. "I'm going to put it right here, for now," he told her, "because I want to make sure I read it properly." He folded his hands on the desk in front of him. He hoped she understood that she was free to sit, if she wanted to.

"I'm not going to say you were wrong, because I understand where you're coming from," he told her, "but there was one thing that you said that bothered me and I touched on it already." He took a sip of his coffee before he continued. "I know this is a big transition for you. You're not used to this kind of work environment and you sure as _hell_ aren't used to this side of _me_. The thing I want to make sure is absolutely clear, is that there are no acceptable casualties here. I only have a good day when everyone comes back here alive. None of your lives is worth more or less than any of the others, so I don't want any more of this talk of noble self-sacrifice, okay? I don't pretend to know what was expected of you when you were the Slayer, but you're on a team now." He let a smile form. "And _that_ is, apparently, the whether you like it or not bit, because Ianto just came in here to bat for you and he doesn't _do_ that for just anyone."

A small smile formed in response to his words and she let herself glance out the glass at the man who seemed to be so diligently working on something. "It's the shrine," she admitted with a smirk, turning her attention back to Jack. "I sent him the plans this morning."

Returning to seriousness, she carefully sat in the chair in front of his desk, a signal that things had moved well out of hostile territory. "I was always told I was part of a 'team'," she told him quietly, "but it was never true. In my line of work, Slayers were always alone, despite how many people tried to help me. I was the one who had to make the tough choices and be blamed for the consequences." She looked down at her lap, her hands wringing themselves into white. "I can promise that I'll try to find another way, but I'll always make the call of someone else over me. It's just the way I am."

"I understand that," he said, "and it's part of your charm, but you don't have to make those calls anymore. That's _my_ job. I appreciate your input, same as them," he said with a nod towards the window that looked out on their teammates in the Hub, "and I don't want you to keep your opinions to yourself, but _I_ make the final call. Also, if saving the day requires throwing somebody into harm's way? It's going to be _me_. _I_ get up again. Clear?" His tone was gentle but broached no argument.

She smiled and nodded, acknowledging that she wasn't the one in the difficult position anymore, but also thinking to herself that he wouldn't always be there, as much as he tried to be. "You know, you and me, we have that whole not staying dead thing in common," she confided with a smirk. "Except I do it with a bit more style."

"Maybe, but I do it with _consistency_ and I like to think that counts for something." He grinned. "I do everything _else_ with style, so I suppose I can let you have that one." 

He studied her for a moment. "And, disappointingly, the power struggle _again_ ends without the need for naked wrestling," he remarked with an exaggerated sigh. "I have to get a bit of a megalomaniac in here sometime."

Buffy stared at him with an incredulous look. "I don't think there is ever going to be a need for naked wrestling, long as I'm involved," she informed him, then chuckled quietly. "Though I definitely know my boyfriend would go for the idea, but he'd probably beat you up for the prime spot."

Jack leaned forward. "That's the spirit," he said before letting a wicked grin spread across his features. He sat back again. "Tell you what, though, we'll let you wrestle the winner."

Narrowing her eyes like a kid whose sibling had just declared intentions for something despicable that called for instant payback. She pointed a finger at him in a threatening promise and said, "I'm telling Ianto on you," then rose and headed for the door.

Jack smiled like the Cheshire Cat as he called after her, "Go ahead if you think you can tell him anything about my behaviour that would surprise him!"

Turning at the door, she stuck her tongue out at him like a four-year-old, then laughed as she headed back down to her station. When she passed Ianto, she informed him that, "He's being _impossible_ again."

"Glad to hear it," Ianto remarked mildly. Buffy was doing that giggling thing again. They'd apparently worked things out.

About half an hour passed before an alert came up on Ianto's screen. "Jack!" he called. Jack poked his head around the office doorway. "We have a report of a weevil in the Grangetown Rail Station."

Jack looked at Buffy. "You're with me," he told her. "Time to bag your first weevil." He glanced at Gwen as Ianto appeared with his coat and slid it up over his shoulders with practiced ease. "Hold the fort." He looked at Ianto. "Let us know if it moves."

Having given his instructions, he swept out the door, waiting in the lift for Buffy to catch up before heading up to the surface.

Buffy grabbed her jacket, something cheap and denim that she'd found in the first box she'd unpacked and wouldn't mind if it got ruined, and hurried after him, slipping into the jacket as they rode up to the surface. "Oh goodie, my first 'Torchwood vamp'," she said with a hint of sarcasm, using her self-assigned classification for the creatures they seemed to deal with as often as she'd had vampires running around Sunnydale.

They sped towards Grangetown Station in the SUV. They were maybe half-way there when Ianto's voice came over the comms. Today, Buffy would be able to hear it, if she remembered to wear her communicator. 

"Jack, it's on the move. Reports that it's moving north along Clive Street, towards Penarth Road. A security guard at the rail station was injured, by the way. He's being taken to hospital with lacerations to his arm and shoulder."

Jack touched his ear to activate the device. "Understood," he replied. He looked at Buffy. "Keep your eyes open. They don't usually come out in the streets during the day and I don't like it when they start acting all weird. It usually means something bad is going on that I don't know about."

"I know the feeling," she commented, watching the streets that were still unfamiliar as they raced past. Buffy was suddenly very glad that she'd remembered the earpierce thingy just before she'd left her building that morning, and that she'd thought it important enough to go back for it. She would have looked pretty stupid if she'd forgotten it on her _second day_ of work.

Glancing at Jack, she confided, "Things going wonky in Sunnydale almost always meant impending apocalypse and a new Big Bad to deal with."

Jack nodded. "Well, hopefully we're dealing with one crazy weevil here and not an impending emergency of weevil-agitating proportions."

He reached up to activate his earpiece again. "Ianto, where is it?" They'd sped up Corporation Road and had reached Penarth Road, but he didn't know if the weevil had gotten that far yet. They could really motor when they wanted to.

"Turn right," Ianto instructed him. "Reports have it moving east along Penarth Road, just past the bridge. It seems to be headed towards the city centre."

Jack glanced at Buffy a little uneasily, then made the right that Ianto had indicated. They were soon on top of the weevil. It was loping along the side of the road. It actually looked terrified... well, as terrified as a weevil's face was capable of looking. Jack pulled over, parking the SUV half on the pavement. "We have to take it on foot," he explained as he opened his door. As he came around the front of the vehicle, he tossed Buffy a small aerosol can. "This spray temporarily subdues them," he told her. "Well, 'subdue' is a strong word..." he added thoughtfully as he took off at a run after the weevil. It seemed to sense that it was suddenly being chased and increased its pace.

Buffy had only ever seen the weevils that were in Torchwood's holding cells, but something about this one still struck her as different. Odd. _Wrong_. And that did not have her going 'I have a _good_ feeling about this.'

She barely had to call on any of her Slayer speed to get ahead of Jack, closing the distance between her and the weevil without breaking a sweat. She tackled it easily, the both of them crashing to the pavement as the thing snarled at her. What was with all the aliens and their snarlfests? She was seriously starting to suspect that demons and aliens were distantly related, maybe one of those ancient genetic things she hadn't paid attention to in high school.

The weevil had turned on her in an instant, trying to go for her neck with its sharp teeth, and again she found herself making that comparison with fledglings. Weevils really did equal Torchwood Vampires. A good punch left it stunned for a second, shaking its head as she tried to regain the upper hand.

"The spray!" Jack shouted as he caught up. Pedestrians were stopping to watch at this point. He ignored them. He pulled a black cloth bag out of his coat pocket, ready to cover its head as soon as Buffy had it under control.

Buffy felt like she was pepper-spraying a stupid mugger as she sprayed the poor alien creature, watching as it almost immediately stopped fighting. Good thing, too, considering their growing audience. She wondered if they could use the PCP excuse in Cardiff...

Jack quickly slid the bag over the creature's head and then heaved it up over his shoulder, striding the distance back to the SUV without acknowledging the small audience in any way. He slung the weevil into the reinforced rear of the vehicle and slammed it closed before climbing into the driver's seat. He did a u-turn in the road and sped away the moment Buffy got in.

He activated the comm. "We've got the weevil," he said.

"I know," Ianto told him. "Mobile phone camera footage is already up on YouTube. Isn't technology grand? I'll erase it after I've traced the source."

Jack looked at Buffy, rolling his eyes before he continued the conversation. "I don't suppose there's anything else suspicious going on?" he asked. "Any notable rift activity, for example?"

There was a pause, likely while Ianto checked. "Nothing in particular," Ianto told him. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Why?"

"Just wondering if weird weevil behaviour is this week's portent of doom."

"If it is, doom is keeping its head down," Ianto assured him. "So far, at least."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the mention of YouTube; the Minis spent far too much time on that website for her own personal well-being. And apparently it was just going to give poor Ianto some extra work... but she'd bet a handful of kittens that he'd do it efficiently and with his typical Ianto style.

Glancing over at Jack, she asked, "Do you guys generally run checks on odd causes of deaths, even if they don't have the whole police red flag thing going on? Just wondering. That's usually my version of This Week's Message of Doom Is..."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, we have programs running in our computer systems that monitor news reports and police reports and blogs and... well, every source of information we can get into - for things that might interest us, whether they've been flagged that way or not. It filters out results and sends them to Ianto. He keeps an eye on them in case something comes up that we need to look into," Jack explained. "Odd causes of death included."

She nodded slowly, turning to look toward the back of the SUV, slightly uncomfortable with the weevil just being back there. It made her feel like she was sitting on a fresh grave just waiting for a newly turned vamp to pop up at her.

"Maybe we should look at non-odd deaths then," she suggested, feeling so much like the new girl who had no idea how things worked and so every suggestion ended up being completely redundant. "I once had to fight a demon that preyed on sick kids, and the only sign of weird stuff was kids dying of a bad flu strain."

Jack nodded. "But wouldn't there have been more than usual? The program would flag that. We're going to have to wait for something to surface. Sometimes, you just can't take the fight to your adversary until they bother showing up."

They arrived back at the Hub, Jack, again, carrying the weevil out of the SUV and all the way down to the vaults. He showed Buffy how the door mechanisms worked, in case she needed to use them at some point.

Buffy followed obediently, watching everything Jack did and doing her best to memorize it so she wouldn't have to ask about it later. She really did want things with this job to go well, and so far she'd just ended up feeling like a kid who kept doing everything wrong. It was strange to be back in that sort of situation; it was exactly how she'd felt when she'd started college. She hadn't liked it then and she didn't like it now.

Ianto met them at the top of the stairs. "Jack, I managed to hack into our videographer's Blackberry and erase the original video, then I erased the copy on YouTube. There's a problem, however, as the BBC has somehow managed to get a copy of it and are running it as one of the headlines on the 24 hour news."

Jack sighed. "Alright, let me make a couple of calls. Anything else?"

"The Prime Minister called," Ianto began. Jack groaned. "He wanted to come here tomorrow," Ianto continued, as though the interruption had never happened. "But I told him that wasn't possible. He wants to schedule it for next week. I told him we'd get back to him."

"Tell him 'never' is good for us," Jack said.

"He wants to talk to you, Jack."

"I thought keeping him off my back was the skill that impressed him so much," Jack countered, striding towards his office before the conversation got any more unpleasant. "Show it off."

"Also, the mayor saw the video and wants to know why you assaulted and abducted one of his citizens in broad daylight."

Jack stopped and spun around. "Seriously?" he asked incredulously.

"No," Ianto replied calmly. "I just wanted to get your attention." He handed Jack the mug of coffee he'd been carrying. "BBC."

Jack was about to say something, but let himself be distracted by the coffee. "Yeah, I'll call right now," he said, stepping towards his office. "But I'm not talking to the Prime Minister. Keep him out of my hair," he called over his shoulder. "I'm serious."

Ianto gave a very put-upon nod to Jack's back as he turned to go back to his own workspace.

"How was weevil hunting?" he asked Buffy as he passed her.

"Kinda boring," she admitted, watching Gwen seem to debate something and then head off to follow Jack rather than stay and chat with the newbie. She didn't blame her. Arguing with a national television network sounded like a lot more fun. "I'm used to getting a bit more fight out of my baddies, and a lot more talking, lot less snarling. Makes me kinda wish there was a higher rate of vamp activity around here... Stupid Rift," she grumbled, hands in her pockets as she leaned against the edge of her desk.

"You know," Buffy started, a grin slowly blossoming, "if you ever want someone else to field the calls from the PM, you can count me as a volunteer. I think he'd be more than a little surprised at having to deal with me again." She had to admit, she'd made a sizable effort last time to leave an impression.

"Jack told me that he'd offered you a job, as well. Something about twelve shades of embarrassed? I thought we'd save you for when he visits. Kind of a surprise," he said, packing a lot of evil into a very small smile.

"Ooh, very nice," she said approvingly, giving him a mischievous smile. "Better make sure to have a camera on hand for when he trips over his own oversized feet. Believe me, it's something you _don't_ want to miss."

Still leaning against her desk, she sort of twiddled her thumbs in the pockets of her coat, quietly thinking and changing hesitant glances over at Ianto. Finally, she pushed away from the desk and walked over to him, uncertainty etched along the edges of her otherwise calm expression. "Is there something I should be doing?" she asked him, completely serious and almost a little nervous. "Or... something I _could_ do? Cause that paperwork from earlier is gonna take me ten minutes, twenty tops, and then I'll have to start playing with office supplies and seeing what I can balance on my nose, and that just doesn't seem like a productive use of time."

Ianto turned his attention to her when she approached, but he really hadn't been expecting her to _ask_ for more work. He couldn't remember the last time someone had finished their assigned work and asked for more at Torchwood. Usually they just invented some new and disruptive way to fuck around. He glanced over at the papers on her desk. "I suppose when that training room is done and you've run out of work, you'll be doing that," he mused. "So I suppose if there's anything you need to learn, you'll have to learn it now." 

He looked at her. "How long have you actually been in Cardiff?" he asked. "Only, I heard you telling Jack that you hadn't unpacked yet. You said you didn't know your way around? You could look at some maps and read about the city... try to get a feel for it before you go out there and explore it. That would be productive, especially once you've gotten established here and get sent somewhere on your own in the course of an investigation." He put his pen down. "And just a recommendation? Your first day off, go be a tourist. By 'be a tourist', I mean go do all the most touristy things you can find. There are brochures upstairs in the tourist office. Walk along the harbour, go to the market, visit the castle. There are some nice views of the city from the top of the Keep on a clear day." He turned back to his work. "Someone recommended that to me when I moved to London to work at Canary Wharf," he told her as he glanced through some forms. "I was skeptical about it, but it helped a lot."

Nodding slowly as she took in his suggestions, she gave him a small smile. "Okay, I'll do that," she agreed, taking a few backward steps, not wanting to bother him and not feeling playful enough to pull out the flirting. "Thanks, Ianto." And then she turned and went back to her desk, sitting there for a moment and just thinking before returning to the paperwork for her training room.

The Hub seemed too quiet, even with the sounds of their prehistoric watchdog flying overhead. It was quiet and strange and she was suddenly hit with the strangest sense of homesickness... for Cleveland.

She missed her friends. She missed having Faith send her weird faces from the other side of a conference room or very inappropriate text messages, both in timing and subject. She missed hearing Xander complain about the latest teen girl fad, and Willow beaming about the magically inclined wizkids they'd found that week. She missed seeing Giles clean his glasses and try not to scream in British frustration...

But no matter how much she missed them, she knew they were part of what had been holding her back all these years. She'd spent so much of her life living up to people's expectations and being afraid of another person she loved leaving her that she'd missed the memo of living her life for _her_ , just for Buffy. It was something she'd known for quite some time, but it was Jack who had finally given her the perfect opportunity. She just had to make it through and not let herself run back to the familiar at the first sign of trouble.

She could do it. She was Buffy, the Slayer who had defeated the First Evil and changed the course of history. She could do anything she put her mind to, damnit!


	9. Lunch Breaks and Tourist Traps

"... I mean, seriously? Is it National Disrespect Torchwood Week?" Jack was saying as he and Gwen exited his office. He turned to Ianto as he came into the main area of the Hub. "The BBC seems to think that, just because Canary Wharf is gone, that Torchwood doesn't have teeth anymore. Why don't you take them off the air for a couple of hours tonight, right after the watershed? They can see how they like the taste of a few thousand 'Is this what I pay my licence fee for?' letters and irate phone calls."

Ianto nodded and noted something down.

"Not just BBC1, either. All the TV stations, all the radio stations. _Everything._ Let the nation watch reruns of American shows on Channel 5."

Jack turned to Buffy. "Still up for that walking tour I promised you yesterday? Or are you busy?" he said, nodding towards the forms she was filling in. He glanced up at the ceiling. "Apparently, the weather is lovely this afternoon."

Buffy had looked up from her paperwork as soon as she heard Jack's voice, just in time to catch Gwen's smirk and a shake of the head at their boss's rant. And... whoa, they could do that? Well, really, it did make sense. Willow could shut down the entire internet for hours at a time to stop people from getting into the NC's files, so why couldn't Torchwood use some of their amazing tech to force people to suffer through reruns?

"Nope, just finishing up," she answered with a grin, quickly signing her name at the bottom of the page before hopping up. Hurrying over to Ianto, she held them out with a grin and told him, "For you, kind Coffee God."

Jack looked over at him as he took the documents from Buffy. "Want to come with us?" he asked.

Ianto had been putting Buffy's forms into a file. His head snapped up. "I... really?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah, Gwen can handle things around here for a bit," he said, grinning over at Gwen for emphasis. He gave Buffy a nudge with his elbow, nodding towards Ianto. "He's local. He knows more."

"Technically, you've lived here longer than I have," Ianto answered, but he was putting his jacket on.

"Mostly underground," Jack pointed out.

"Fair point," Ianto conceded, heading up to Jack's office to get his coat.

Buffy nearly started dancing with excitement while they waited for Ianto. "Please tell me this city is more interesting than Rome," she said to Jack, amusement flitting across her expression. "Because once you've seen the ruins and done the shopping, there's really not much to it for an Action Girl like me." 

Not that she didn't love Rome. She'd spent quite a few 'vacations' there with Andrew and the Minis, and on one occasion she'd even gotten to see 'herself' in action with some guy called the Immortal. Decoys still kinda wigged her out, but she no longer doubted their effectiveness.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Define 'interesting'," he said. "We have monsters that could jump out of a sewer or the rift in time and space at any moment at any location. Keeps things interesting. There are also some really good restaurants if you know where to look and I know a guy who can put both feet _behind_ his head."

"What 'guy'?" Ianto asked suspiciously as he arrived with Jack's coat.

"I meant _used_ to know a guy," Jack told Buffy with a completely straight face.

Ianto helped Jack into his coat and gave him a _look_ , but it was half-hearted and there was a smile in his eyes.

Before Buffy could head for the door, Jack steered her towards the centre of the room. "You haven't been this way, yet," he told her and gave her a hand up onto the platform before he and Ianto joined her. "We call it the invisible lift."

"Invisible? Neat," Buffy commented as the platform rose toward the surface, watching the gadgets and gears work beneath the ceiling. As the stone settled into place and as watched people pass by without any crazy looks or frantic screams, she smirked and gave Jack a sidelong gaze. "Lemme guess, they don't notice us? Something perceptiony?"

Not waiting for an answer, she hopped off the lift and did a little spin, her head tilting back to drink in the sun peaking through white clouds that did not promise rain. "Definitely of the wicked cool, but not so much as teleporting."

"Teleporting got me _into_ this mess," Jack retorted without offering any sort of explanation. "And yes, it's a perception filter." He started out across the Plass towards Lloyd George Avenue, heading for the city centre. "Since you've been through the Plass a few times now, I imagine you've already taken in the Millenium Centre," he said, gesturing towards the elaborate venue as they passed it.

"Kinda sorta," she said with a shrug, hands in her coat pockets as she walked along with them, her eyes taking in the place where she'd be living from now on. "It was all rainy and yuck yesterday, and after I kinda just wanted to get home, so didn't pay much attention."

Her brow furrowed and she mused, "Not that it's really homey yet. Mostly just an empty apartment with lots of boxes mocking me and waiting for me to sleep so they can fall on top of me and make me a squished Buffy." Glancing at the two men who probably thought she was looney, she quickly added in defense, "It's happened before. Really. Evil possessed boxes."

"I've heard of stranger things," Ianto said placidly. Jack smirked. 

"This area was pretty much derelict when I was growing up," Ianto explained to Buffy before they moved beyond the Plass. "This is all new within the last ten years."

Buffy smiled. "I like it," she decided, the atmosphere and look of the buildings not grating on her enhanced senses in the least. Good thing, too, since she was kinda stuck there. "It's not like L.A. or Sunnydale, and definitely not like Cleveland," she added with a chuckle. No, she was most certainly not in Ohio anymore, Toto.

Ianto looked over at her. "I haven't... _been_ to America," he told her, "but I _have_ noticed that Cleveland tends to be the punchline of a lot of jokes on American television." He cocked his head slightly. "I'm going to guess from your tone that it's at least _somewhat_ warranted."

"Little bit," she agreed with another laugh and a broad smile. "Some stuff's way overdone and over-toppy, but others are very much warranted. But it's not a bad place to live, other than the active Hellmouth stuff. But really, the locals barely notice."

Ianto nodded and looked at Jack a little helplessly. He wasn't anti-social, by any means, but sometimes it got to the point where he just didn't know what to _do_ with the continuous perkiness.

"Kinda like here," Jack said with a grin as they headed up the sidewalk along the wide boulevard of Lloyd George Avenue. He smirked again. "Then again, alien stuff is getting so old-hat around here, maybe it's not that they're not _noticing_. Maybe they're just _bored_ of it now."

Buffy looked at Jack for a long moment, then glanced at Ianto before turning a completely _innocent_ gaze on her ancient yet drool-worthy boss. "Or maybe it's just that _you're_ getting boring," she said, completely serious and not letting even a tiny smile crack. She'd been looking forward to this one.

Jack looked at Ianto. Ianto raised an 'Are you going to let her talk to you like that?' eyebrow back at him. Jack looked at Buffy. "You think I'm boring?" he challenged her.

"Me?" she asked, a hand over her heart in mock shock, then waved her hand dismissively. "Never!" Leaning in close and lowering her voice a little, just for the comedic effect, she added secretively, "But you know what they say about old age... And you _are_ getting pretty aged, bossman. Just sayin'."

"He's pretty spry for an old guy," Ianto interjected.

Jack looked at him. "Don't help me," he said.

Ianto shrugged and Jack turned back to Buffy. "Must be why I insist on surrounding myself with pretty young things," he said airily. "Apparently the PM has the same idea, because he's tried to steal almost my entire supply of them." Jack frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe I should inform him that he could pack fireworks up his ass and it wouldn't make him exciting," Jack suggested.

"I don't think that would be particularly diplomatic or prudent," Ianto countered.

Jack shrugged.

Buffy snickered and commented, " _I_ think it's funny." 

They walked for a few moments more before there was a lightbulb moment and she pointed at Jack in excitement. "You can tell him that and _then_ we'll retcon him and stick him on an island!" she exclaimed, bouncing a little and wondering how far she had to go to get Ianto to give her one of his _looks_.

Ianto looked at them with a mix of consternation and a small amount of alarm, then decided he _really_ didn't want to know. Deniability was always a good thing.

Jack, for his part, laughed. "This plan just gets better and better," he said happily. He looked at Ianto. "Just figuring out the most fun way to depose the Prime Minister," he explained.

"It's all well and good for you," Ianto answered dryly. "You don't have to clean it up."

Jack laughed again. "Fair point," he said, echoing Ianto's earlier sentiment.

Shaking her head, Buffy was reminded of all the times in those early days in Sunnydale when Willow had woried about the consequences and been nervous about things, but still always ready to jump into the chaos at first chance. Ianto almost reminded her of that Willow, the Willow before becoming a powerful witch with an addiction to magic, back when she'd been... different. They'd all been different back then.

"I'm sooo glad it stopped raining!" she suddenly exclaimed, changing the subject. "I'm never gonna get used to all the rain you people get here."

Jack laughed. "Don't worry," he joked. "We hardly see the light of day, sunny or not." The buildings got older and more dense as they came into the city centre. "And now, on your left and on your right," Jack said, putting on his best tour guide voice, "you see beautiful downtown Cardiff. Feel free to take pictures."

Turning to look at him with a disbelieving raised eyebrow, she asked Jack, "That's the best you've got?" Addressing Ianto, she informed him, "It's cheesy, and so not tip-worthy. I've seen better on the Travel Channel."

"Oh, well excuse _me_ ," Jack harrumphed. "Back in the day, when I actually had to _do_ that kind of job, I tended to get by on my looks," he informed her. "And charm. My customers disagreed with your assessment of my tip-worthiness."

She rolled her eyes and informed him, "Sorry, McCharmy, it was all about the thrall." Grinning, she added cheerfully, "But hey! Ianto seems very not taken in by thrallness, so that has to say something about your non-thrally skill set."

Ianto glanced over at them, wondering how he'd managed to get dragged back into the conversation when he'd been basically trying to ignore most of it. "What makes you think I'm not taken in by the thrall?" he asked innocently.

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "'Thrall' sounds a _lot_ sexier when _you_ say it," he informed the administrator. He glanced at Buffy. "Sorry, it's probably the accent."

Ianto rolled his eyes.

Jack looked at Buffy again. "I have _amazing_ non-thrally skills," he assured her.

Buffy had to laugh at the comment about Ianto's accent. Oh, she knew all too well the power of an accent, especially a nice British one, though it did sometimes give her weird Giles flashbacks if she got too sleep-deprived, but it was a daily hazard she was willing to live with. 

"You're not the _only_ one," she retorted with a hint of suggestion, then hurried forward so she could turn and address the both of them. "So, where to next? Someplace interesting and hopefully not involving anything alieny, cause I'm kinda liking having the afternoon off?" she asked hopefully, feeling like a teenager trying to talk her way into an excuse for skipping school.

Ianto and Jack exchanged innocent looks that were far too innocent to be real.

"I thought this was an educational trip?" Ianto said.

"I don't think there _is_ anything non-alieny in Cardiff," Jack added.

They both looked at Buffy. Ianto shrugged. Jack was about to say something when a woman in a cream-coloured jacket and crisp navy trousers stepped out of a newsagents in front of them. Her expression became slightly taut when she saw them.

"Well, well. What brings Torchwood out into the light of day?" she asked, looking over her sunglasses at Jack. "Is it some kind of monster sighting or do we have another particularly gruesome crime scene?"

"It's our lunchbreak," Jack replied breezily. "And might I say, you're looking _lovely_ today, Kathy. You didn't have to dress up for us."

She raised a scrutinizing eyebrow at him. "It's Detective Swanson," she informed him.

He looked past her at Buffy. "This is Detective Swanson," he told her, by way of introduction.

She held his gaze, his mischievous, hers a little hard, before she started to stroll away. "Behave yourself, Captain."

"You can call me Jack," he told her.

"Not bloody likely," she answered, but her tone held a certain amount of amusement.

He laughed and resumed his easy stroll along the sidewalk. "Police," he explained to Buffy with a nod in the direction Swanson had departed in. "They don't always love us." He glanced after Swanson, though she'd already disappeared into the crowd. "She's alright, though."

Buffy had just sort of blinked her way through the entire encounter, amused by the exchange more than anything else. She could spot a cop a mile away now, see it in the way they walked, talked, and that oh so superior look in their eyes. They were almost like politicians, except there was less lie to cops and more thoughts of moral high ground. 

"You know, first seven years of my job, had to work _around_ the cops," she informed the boys, as she was starting to affectionately think of them in her head. "Avoid them butting in where they were just gonna get killed, trying not to get arrested for a murder I didn't commit... Nowdays, we have to play nice in the sandbox." Smirking, she added, "They never love us, but sometimes they _like_ us. Usually when we show up during Apocalypse Season."

Jack smirked. "Unless they've decided that the current apocalypse is our fault," he pointed out. He raised an eyebrow. "So, seriously? What would you _like_ to do?" he asked. "The castle?" He looked at Ianto. "The castle is kind of a must-see, isn't it?"

Ianto shrugged. He grew up walking past it. All the same, people who came into the tourist office were always asking about it. "Apparently," he told Jack. He looked at Buffy. "The views from the top of the Keep are nice, like I said."

Jack grinned at Buffy. "Also, we get into wherever we want for free," he told her.

Ianto sighed. "We'll buy tickets," he told Jack firmly.

Jack's expression was very _nearly_ a pout. "Spoil sport," he muttered, giving Buffy a wink.

Buffy raised a scolding finger and told Jack in her best British wannabe accent, "Mustn't abuse those special privileges, Captain Harkness!" And then she promptly burst into giggles and turned a bright pink color. "Wow, he's right, that is _so_ bad."

Waving off the tiny bursts of laughter, she managed to say, "Castle with a view sounds neat. Let's go."

Ianto looked at Jack with some confusion. "Who's right?" he asked. He looked over at Buffy. "Not that I don't agree with whoever it is," he added with wryly.

She rolled her eyes and muttered a, "Gee, thanks, Ianto," before turning around to walk properly down the street. "And the who would be my boyfriend. He's always saying my accent is 'bloody rubbish', now I have to admit he's _right_." She made her disgust at the thought known.

Jack grinned and glanced at Ianto who didn't say anything, but did it pointedly, which made Jack laugh. 

He turned his attention to Buffy. "So when do we get to meet this allegedly handsome and mysterious man who is, apparently, sometimes right?" he asked brightly.

Glancing over her shoulder with a grin, she nodded appreciatively at Jack's description. "Definitely handsome, with some mysteriousness when he makes an effort, and rarely right that I'll admit," she elaborated with a laugh. "And sorry, he doesn't spend much time on this continent. Usually kept busy back in North America; he's pretty high up in the NC, too

Jack fielded another confused look from Ianto. "New Council," he explained. "And that's most of what I know about it, except they're in charge of the legions of Slayers Buffy was talking about yesterday." He gave Buffy a slightly teasing look. "They, apparently, care for socializing with the Prime Minister more than fellow apocalypse averters."

Buffy shot a glare in Jack's direction. "Oh, don't make me hurt you," she playfully threatened. "You might _enjoy_ it and then where would poor Ianto be?"

"Cleaning up after you, as usual," Ianto replied mildly.

Jack almost managed to suppress the extremely amused smile that remark provoked and raised his eyebrows at Buffy in a sort of 'See?' expression, implying that 'poor Ianto' had little to worry about in that department and her threats left him clearly unconcerned.

Ianto watched their silent teasing match for a moment as they came upon the castle. "I'm going to get tickets," he told them flatly, walking over to the little gift shop outside the castle's gate that sold the admissions, among other things.

Jack slid his hands into his pockets and looked at Buffy. "I've never actually done the tour," he revealed. "I guess you don't get the cheesy videos and tour guides when you don't come here during their actual opening hours."

She mimicked his posture and smiled. "Well, Ianto said touristy stuff was of the good, and you've lived here a while, so it's even better for you," she pronounced confidently. There was a moment's pause and then she looked at Jack innocently and asked, "We can mock the cheesy videos, right?"

"We can _definitely_ mock the cheesy videos," Jack confirmed. "And I don't need a tour of the history of Cardiff, thanks. Lived it." He glanced past Buffy to see Ianto heading back towards them. He seemed about to hand Jack and Buffy their tickets when a sudden scream ripped through the air, followed by shouting and general panic in the direction it had come from. Ianto rolled his eyes as they started towards it, shoving the tickets into his jacket pocket.

"Of course," he remarked, "the Rift never acts up _before_ you buy tickets." He looked at Jack emphatically.

"That was _not_ my fault," Jack said defensively.

"I'm with Ianto," Buffy commented as the shouting grew louder up ahead. "It's _so_ your fault."

Looking up at the sky that had previously been bright and cheery, she could have sworn it was laughing down at her now. "Seriously, an afternoon off, that's all I wanted. Do a little sightseeing, make Ianto all flustery, maybe scope out some shopping possibilities," she complained in a ramble. "Is that so much to ask?!"

Ianto's attention was taken from the ruckus ahead and turned, slightly startled, to Buffy when she mentioned his name. He looked at Jack with a mixture of accusation and pleading for help. Jack shrugged in reply.

When they got close enough to the fray, Jack spotted its cause. A reptilesque creature was blundering around in a narrow, crowded street looking, to Jack's mind, very lost. It had probably wandered through the Rift and had no idea where it was. He glanced around. Nobody was hurt - just frightened. He supposed it _would_ look like a monster to the 21st century eye. "Everyone get back!" he shouted. The crowd backed up very slightly. Jack started to approach the creature slowly when someone in the crowd decided to get proactive and hit it with a chair from one of the nearby cafes' patio furniture. It reared up and turned on the person, swiping him out of the way with one large, scaly hand. He was thrown like a ragdoll against the wall of the cafe and a renewed bout of screaming began. This time people started running.

"At least they're getting out of the way now," Jack muttered. The creature, on the other hand, was riled now. It took a swipe at anyone who came near.

Well, Buffy supposed she had to at least be grateful that she'd decided not to wear really good clothes again today. She wasn't quite ready for another fashion fatality just yet, but hopefully Scaly wasn't a biter. Claws stung more, but didn't usually take out chunks either. She could do without missing chunks, too. "My turn," she murmured before stepping forward. 

Getting close to the creature was proving to be a problem though. It was quick, almost as much so as a vampire, and those arms were pretty long. Buffy found herself dodging its swipes like an old game of middle school dodgeball, just doing what she could to stay in one piece.

"A little distraction, please!" she called back to the boys, dropping down to avoid another swipe and trying for a kick to the creature's leg, which only grazed it as it moved out of range.

Jack took a step towards the creature, whistling loudly to get its attention. He was focused on the creature and Buffy and only Ianto noticed a woman stepping towards the creature, apparently to try and grab her handbag. 

"Stay back!" Ianto shouted. She ignored him, continuing to creep towards it. 

Jack glanced over his shoulder, but couldn't look long enough to see what was going on, having to avoid swinging claws himself. Ianto moved forward to pull the woman back, grabbing her around the waist and bodily moving her away from the creature. She struggled the entire time. As he released her well out of the creature's reach, her boyfriend seemed to appear out of nowhere, punched him in the face, grabbed her by the hand and stalked away. Knocked to the ground, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He could still hear her saying something about her purse as they disappeared into the crowd. He turned to look over his shoulder, to see how Buffy and Jack were doing.

This game of Dodge the Reptile Man was _really_ getting out of hand. Not that Buffy was even breaking a sweat or anything, but she also wasn't getting in any good fighting, and that was the fun part. So, the next chance she had with the creature being momentarily distracted by Jack, she took it and threw herself into a flip over the top of it, landing behind it and striking out with a hard kick to it's back. The creature stumbled, then turned and threw her into the wall it had thrown the man into earlier. She hit it hard and dropped to the ground with a groan.

"Why is it always with the throwing of the Buffy into walls?" she grumbled as she pulled herself to her feet, wobbling only a tiny bit. "Least I didn't _break_ this one." There had been many instances of broken gravestones and crumbled walls left in her wake.

While the creature was throwing Buffy into the wall, Jack pulled a stungun from his coat and charged it, colliding with the creature just as it started to turn towards him again. He shocked it twice with the stungun before it fell to the ground, unconscious, and glanced around in time to see both Buffy and Ianto pushing themselves to their feet. "That's teamwork," he said with a grin. He turned to Ianto. "Call Gwen and tell her to get the SUV down here, like, five minutes ago." He paused as Ianto fished his phone out of his pocket. "What happened to your face?" he asked. Ianto spared him a small glare and dialled Gwen's number, gingerly putting his fingers to the tender bruise forming under his left eye.

Rolling her shoulders to work out the kinks that were developing from being throw into the _wall_ , she was going to be grumbling about that for days, she walked over to where the creature lay unconscious. Crouching down beside it, she studied its face for a moment, tilting her head, then finally commented, "Not much of a looker, is h-"

Her words broke off as she sucked in a quick breath, her eyes closing against a sudden rush of vertigo. She leaned forward to steady herself against the ground and a strange image forced its way into her mind. It was the creature... as it was being forced out of the back of white van. The image was gone a moment later and she was left blinking in the aftermath.

Jack was about to reply, but she didn't finish her quip as she seemed to have some sort of dizzy spell. "What is it?" he asked, frowning in concern. "Are you okay?" She'd been thrown into the wall. Maybe she needed medical attention.

Taking a few deep breaths, she nodded and carefully stood. "Yeah, peachy," she told him with a tight smile. "Don't worry, I used to get thrown into stuff all the time. Ceilings were the worst."

What had happened worried her, but until she knew anything more about it, she wasn't going to bring it up. It might be important, or it might be nothing. They didn't need everyone worrying over nothing.

Jack looked at her suspiciously for a moment, then turned his attention back to Ianto.

"Gwen's on her way," he told Jack as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. Jack stepped towards him and tilted his head slightly to the side so he could see the bruising properly, his fingers lingering along Ianto's jaw.

"Are you okay?" he asked, no note of teasing in his voice now.

"It's just a black eye," Ianto told him.

Jack nodded and let his hand drop away from the younger man's face. He turned back to Buffy. "When we get back you can help me muscle Dragon Boy into the cells," he told her. "We'll give him a chance to cool off, then maybe we can find out if he's capable of telling us where he came from."

Buffy nodded, warily watching the creature on the ground, pondering the strange sense of loneliness and confusion she'd felt with the image. It echoed her own experiences and some part of her wanted to reach out and really _help_ this creature. This possibly sentient being.

Sentient being. Willow had really rubbed off on her over the years.


	10. Torchwood Smashed

Gwen arrived in the SUV a few minutes later, climbing out and automatically filling Jack in on things. "I've called Andy, let him know we've got things on this end," she told him, eying the body on the ground. "He almost sounded grateful. Maybe we're moving up in the world," she joked in her thick Welsh accent.

Ianto made a sort of scoffing sound at that as he passed, moving to open the back of the SUV for Jack.

Jack nodded at Gwen's report, then hefted the creature up onto his shoulder just long enough to get it into the car. He took the keys from Gwen and climbed into the driver's seat. Ianto let Gwen have shotgun, opening the back door for Buffy before climbing in himself.

Jack started the car, but didn't put it into gear right away. He looked at Ianto in the rearview mirror. "What _did_ happen to your face?" he asked.

"Boyfriend," Ianto replied wearily.

"That usually happens to _me_ ," Jack noted, humour lacing his tone.

"As well it should," Ianto retorted.

Buffy snickered from her spot in the backseat, then turned to Ianto. "I've got some stuff that'll help with that back at my apartment," she said, gesturing to the spot on his cheek that was quickly darkening into a colorful bruise. "Works just like magic. The NC kinda has its own pharmacological range of stuff now, all industrial strength for the Slayers."

Ianto looked over at her as the car started moving. "I... thought you all had super healing," he said. It wasn't an accusation, he was just curious. Perhaps he'd misunderstood what Jack had meant.

She gave a one-shouldered shrug. "We do, but it's not all Wolverine-ish and immediate," she explained, and immediately wanted to punch Xander and Andrew for the comic book reference that had slipped in. "Broken bones and bad bruises still hurt and take time, just not as much as it would for you or Gwen."

He noticed that she'd rather pointedly not included Jack in that list, but he just nodded. For all the non-Wolverine-ish-ness, she seemed pretty undamaged for having bounced off a brick wall.

Jack pulled the SUV into its usual parking spot and hopped out to retrieve the alien from the back. Ianto helped him get it up into a fireman's carry and he headed towards the vaults, giving Buffy a nod to join him. Gwen and Ianto headed back into the Hub's main work area.

Buffy followed Jack down into the Hub's lower levels, listening to gears moving and echoes resounding as they walked. The place almost reminded her of the castle in Scotland. Almost. There was something to be said about the extreme lack of teenagers in Torchwood.

"Any idea where it might have come from?" she asked, broaching the subject conversationally.

Jack shook his head, grunting slightly under its weight. "Never seen one before," he answered. He nodded towards the wall. "Hit the button to open the cell, would you?" he asked.

She tapped the button quickly and moved to help Jack get the big guy into the cell. "Oh, gah, he smells _lovely_ ," she grumbled when she finally got up close and personal with the alien.

Jack chuckled as they managed to muscle the alien onto the bench in the cell. "Yes, well, it's an unearthly smell, I'll give it that."

As he and Buffy stepped out of the cell, he closed the door and lead her back upstairs. Gwen and Ianto were hard at work on their computers, taking care of the coverup. Ianto looked up as Jack passed his station. "The Prime Minister called again and the BBC is set to go offline at nine o'clock," he reported before turning back to his work. 

Jack looked at Buffy. "Do you have plans tonight?"

Buffy noticed Gwen smirking from behind her computer when Ianto mentioned the BBC impending doom. Well, it _was_ going to be pretty funny. She almost wished she could watch the people at the station panicking while they scrambled to figure out what had gone wrong...

"Hmm?" she turned her attention back to Jack with raised eyebrows. "Uhm, other than slaying a few cardboard boxes? Nope. My schedule's pretty cobwebby."

"Good," he said, "because we're all going out for a drink tonight." Without turning around or waiting for the question, he added to Gwen in a put-upon tone, "Yes, you can bring Rhys." They pretended it was a hassle, but, in truth, Rhys was a good guy and Gwen needed that, and if that meant putting up with his good-natured normalness, then Jack could handle it for an evening here and there. He glanced around. "You can go home when you've finished up with what you're doing. We'll meet up outside the tourist office at eight o'clock."

Rhys? It took Buffy a moment for the lightbulb to flick on. Rhys was Gwen's husband, the normal one who'd gotten pulled into the Torchwood insanity. She remembered getting the Reader's Digest version of the wedding festivities, which she'd followed up with her own stories of the really crazy weddings she'd attended.

"Ooh, drinkage," she said with a grin. She was definitely up for doing the drinking and bonding thing; work could definitely wait until tomorrow, when they were all popping hangover pills with their coffee.

Gwen passed them as she headed over to hand Ianto some papers, giving their boss a smile and sweetly telling him, "Thank you, Jack." It made Buffy laugh.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said, waving his hand dismissively but unable to keep the twinkle of amusement out of his eyes. "Get out of here."

Ianto took the papers and carried on with his work. There were just over three hours before they were meeting upstairs. He still had lots of time, even if he planned on going home to change.

Jack glanced at him, winked at Buffy, then slid his hands into his pockets and went up to his office.

Buffy rolled her eyes at Jack's wink before starting to gather things up at her desk. She grabbed the forms Ianto had given her for training room stuff, cramming them carefully into her messenger bag so they wouldn't get smooshed; she'd had to redo many, many forms over the years for annoyed Watcher-types and she didn't want to chance risking Ianto's wrath on the matter.

Slipping into her jacket, she spotted Gwen working on her computer, finishing up the last bit of work for the day, no doubt, and gave the woman a little wave. Passing Ianto on her way out, she grinned and told him, "See you tonight, Coffee God." Just because it was worth the wrath.

Ianto offered her a _look_ before turning pointedly back to what he was doing. This was Jack's fault, he reminded himself. Probably _entirely_ Jack's fault. What had Jack's completely convincing defense been? Oh, right. He'd missed Ianto. Ianto sighed to himself. He was so bloody easy sometimes. He glanced up at Jack's office. It was usually worth it, though, he thought, smiling ever so slightly to himself.

 

Buffy found herself spontaneously giggling the entire way back to her box-ridden apartment thanks to that _look_. Ianto was definitely going on her favorites list, and that was a tough spot to get these days. Jack's little team was charming, though, and reminded her so much of how the Scoobies had been for so many years, that she couldn't help but already have a soft spot for the entire group. And if what Jack had said about Gwen's husband was true, he'd probably get lumped right in there with them too.

It turned out to be a good thing that she'd left work so early -- all of her good club/bar-type clothes had still been packed away, and she had to look nice that night. It'd be the first time they'd all just be hanging out, and that was when the real impressions were made, when you really got to know the people you were working with. That had become an important thing as the New Council has become really established.

Once a suitable outfit had been picked -- a sandy-colored dress with tall dark brown books that matched her long brown leather coat -- she showered, did her hair and makeup, and made a quick phonecall to Willow about the wigged out vision thing she'd experienced earlier. Well, she tried to anyway. Once she managed to get through, after being put on hold twice and passed to the wrong extension, she was privy to the chaos of an impending apocalypse in Brazil. 

Really, how had the world ever managed with only one Slayer on duty at a time?

This was why she found herself sprinting through the streets of Cardiff to get to the tourist office, a full fifteen minutes late.

Jack was leaning on the wall of the tourist office next to Ianto, who had traded in the day's suit for black jeans and a red long-sleeved t-shirt that Jack was trying to pretend he wasn't extremely distracted by. He straighted up as Buffy approached, giving her a cheeky grin. "Get lost?" he asked. "Or is this that woman's prerogative thing we hear so much about?" He offered his arm to Buffy. "Gwen and Rhys went ahead to get us a table," he said, gesturing towards the Plass as Ianto fell into step on the other side of him. "You probably noticed how many bars, restaurants and pubs line the Plass. It's handy for us. Nice and close in case of a potential world-ending emergency."

Putting her arm through Jack's, she rolled her eyes at his comment about women. "For your information," she told him, "I was late _because_ of a potential world-ending emergency. Apparently Brazil almost got sucked into the dimension of nothing but shrimp."

And hmm, Buffy was almost as distracted by Ianto's outfit as Jack. Too bad they were both taken.

"Nothing but shrimp, huh?" Jack said with an amused smirk. "I suppose that's a bad thing if you're allergic to seafood." When they got to the bar, it took them a moment to locate Gwen and Rhys at a table near the back. It was crowded. They made their way through the clusters of patrons until they reached the table. Jack took the lone seat at the end of the table, Ianto sitting in the chair closest to him on the empty side of the table, leaving the seat on Ianto's other side for Buffy. She was sitting across from Rhys. Jack let Gwen make the introductions while Ianto stood up to go to the bar.

Ianto turned to go, then realized he didn't know what Buffy drank. He leaned over her for a moment. "What would you like to drink?" he asked.

Buffy thought about it for a moment, then decided it was time to test Ianto's skills, see if they were limited only to coffee beverages or spread across the whole wide range of liquid consumables. "You pick," she told him with a smile, before turning back to the group just in time for Gwen to finish introducing her husband.

"Nice to meet you," Rhys said with a grin, reaching out to shake her hand. She could tell immediately that she was going to like him. He had a good-natured smile, just like Xander. And he was apparently one of the 'normal' ones, too. "So, Buffy," he started when the conversation seemed to lull for a moment, "what did you before working with this lot?"

Leaning forward to set her arms on the table, she nonchalantly answered, "I was a professional vampire slayer."

Ianto raised an eyebrow at her when she told him to pick, but turned away from the table wordlessly. He got about a step before he turned back to her, pulling a sleek mobile out of his pocket.

"I didn't get a chance to give you this at the end of the day," he told her, putting it in her hand. "Your new 'cellphone'," he explained, using the American term she'd used the previous day. "Try not to bend, spindle or mutilate," he added, before heading to the bar.

Jack grinned at her. "He means that."

Buffy had looked away from Rhys' shocked and confused face when Ianto spoke and took the cellphone wordlessly. She raised an eyebrow at Jack next, then looked down at the phone like it was another baby egg project like in high school. Did Ianto _really_ expect her to keep that thing alive when she'd already killed dozens like it just on a night of normal patrol with the girls?

"I really hope you've got good pull with him," she mumbled, setting the thing on the table and glaring down at it, thoroughly ignoring how Gwen was quietly explaining the odd story of Torchwood's newest arrival.

Jack laughed. "I think he has more pull with me," he told her, raising a suggestive eyebrow. He looked over at where Ianto was standing at the bar with great interest. "Especially when he's dressed like _that_ ," he added with a grin. He looked at Buffy's new mobile lying innocently on the table. "Not a good history with them, I take it?"

"Like I said before," she said, crossing her arms on the table, "I used to get thrown into things a lot. Buffy going smoosh against a wall usually means things in her pockets go crunch." She still remembered the look of utter disbelief on the Scoobies' faces the first few times she'd shown them the broken bits of former phone. "They might also have been used as projectile weapons a few times, too," she said almost sheepishly, looking away in that avoidy way of hers.

"Yeah, I think you _might_ be able to get away with the 'thrown into something' excuse - especially after today - but I wouldn't use it as a projectile weapon. That is _not_ going to fly. If you're really so averse to the gun, get yourself a crossbow or something. Just spare the phone," he advised with a wink.

"No phone-into-weaponness, gotcha," Buffy said, then smirked with a good dose of her usual charm. "Lucky for everyone involved, I've got a _very nice_ collection of crossbows. My boyfriend bought me a specially made one for my last birthday, even, and I've only gotten to play with it in public a few times. This is the perfect chance." If her tone when talking about the gorgeous weapon was slightly dreamy, it wasn't anything new.

Ianto returned, setting pints of lager in front of himself and Rhys, a rum and coke in front of Gwen, a water in front of Jack and a martini glass filled with neon-green liquid and a slice of apple in front of Buffy.

"It's an apple-tini," he said simply, sitting down without any further explanation.

Buffy glanced between the martini glass and Ianto for a moment before picking it up and taking a sip of the drink. It was exactly the sort of thing she liked. She only went for the hardcore stuff when Faith was around and they were out to really enjoy their night off. "Maybe I should amend that title to Beverage God," she teased him quietly, then thought about it and shook her head. "Nah, not as catchy." 

But really, her drink seemed to be the wild card of the table, the most girly of the bunch. And Jack's water did not go unnoticed, either.

Ianto glanced at her, seeming to have a difficult time deciding whether to be pleased she liked the drink or embarrassed by the effusive praise. "I asked the barmaid," he admitted. "I didn't know what to get you."

Jack laughed. "See? Even when he doesn't know something, he knows how to find out." He winked at Buffy when Ianto wasn't looking at him.

Buffy couldn't help the burst of laughter that bubbled up out of her. It was just too cute. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you," she managed between giggles, having to reach up to wipe the tears from her eyes with a thumb. "My boyfriend never knew what to get me either, and when he _did_ figure it out, he made me get my own drink."

Rhys snorted and Gwen shot him a look that clearly said what she thought of that idea. He wisely stayed silent on the matter.

Jack grinned, his cheeky expression turning from Ianto to Buffy. "Not man enough to order an apple-tini in public, huh?" he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "He's only man enough when he's in flirt-mode and hoping to get lucky," she explained, which made Rhys grin. Gwen just rolled her eyes and muttered something about that being typical man behavior.

Jack sipped his water and rested his hand on Ianto's knee. "How's unpacking going?" he asked Buffy. He supposed they should have let her get settled into town before putting her to work, but - frankly - she had seemed just as keen to come in as he'd been.

She shrugged and began to lazily run her finger along the edge of her glass. "It'll get done eventually," she commented dismissively. She hated packing, and she hated unpacking even more. It wouldn't surprise her if she still had taped up boxes in a month, shoved into corners and covered with plastic plants, because she could never remember to water the real ones.

"I've been in my flat for two years," Ianto told her. "I haven't unpacked everything yet." He paused thoughtfully. "I don't even own that much stuff."

Jack laughed lightly. "Yeah, we only just shoved those boxes into the cupboard, like, three weeks ago."

Ianto shrugged. "I can't possibly need what's in them, can I? I should just get rid of them... but then it comes to the same problem as unpacking them. I'd have to open them and sort through them."

"Oh great, that says all kinds of things about the luck I'll have," she grumbled, taking another drink of the apple-tini. Weird name, a little too literal, but at least it wasn't something completely random like Sidecar. 

Gwen set her drink on the table, her other hand resting on Rhys' arm. "I could help, if you'd like," she offered in a friendly way. "We could make an evening of it." Get to know each other better. She nearly added that they could invite Tosh, but just managed to stop herself, the words turning bitter on her tongue. The memory showed in her saddened expression and her husband put a hand over hers, giving it a light squeeze.

Jack noticed Gwen's expression and turned his smile on Buffy to draw attention away from the former constable's sudden bout of grief.

" _We_ made an evening of it," Jack said. "Of course, we only spent about three minutes shoving the boxes into the cupboard," he mused outloud.

"We don't have a lot of free evenings," Ianto pointed out. "Three minutes was already more time than I was prepared to invest in tidying away my rubbish. I seem to recall that putting the boxes somewhere was _your_ idea."

Jack shrugged. "They gave you an air of inpermanence," he said grandly. "Anyway, they took up floorspace that could be put to better use," he added, his tone full of implication.

Buffy knew grief when she saw it. She'd seen it enough in her own lifetime to be physically incapable of missing the signs. But she also knew when to keep her mouth shut.

Slapping a hand over her eyes, she shook her head. He never stopped. Never ever. The OFF button must have been permanently disabled along with the DEAD one.

Well, she could play along. No problem. Straightening up, Buffy sent a little glare Jack's way and told him, "You're just trying to make me jealous, aren't you? I'm not going to have anywhere near that kind of luck with my housework, because the boyfriend's on another continent and Gwen here's taken."

"True on all counts," Jack agreed. "Sorry about your luck," he added with a not-very-sorry-at-all grin. "Then again, you might actually get your crap unpacked. That's not a bad consolation prize."

Buffy tossed her apple slice at him for _that_ one.

Jack laughed, batting it down with his free hand, the other one still resting quite comfortably on Ianto's knee. He looked at Ianto. "Does that count as insubordination?" he asked, gesturing towards Buffy.

Ianto didn't even take time to think about it, his deadpan answer coming pretty much the moment Jack finished talking. "It _might_ if we were at work," Ianto told him. "But then, _that_ would be harrassment," he added, nodding towards Jack's hand on his knee, "so you really wouldn't be in a position to say much."

Buffy laughed again and turned to Gwen, asking, "They're _always_ like this, aren't they?"

The Welsh woman just nodded with a small smile. "All the time," she affirmed.

"You're brave for coming out with them, Rhys," Buffy told the man with an amused smile.

Rhys shrugged and took a drink of his lager. "I've got Gwen to keep me safe," he said with a bit of nonchalance, then shared a grin with his wife. Buffy had to admit, they looked adorable together.

"I don't know what you mean," Jack said with exagerrated innocence.

"I do," Ianto said mildly, taking a drink of his beer.

Buffy shared a laugh with Gwen and Rhys. It was nice to just sit and talk with people, to joke around and not have that huge amount of baggage hanging over them like with so many of her other friendships. And she was especially liking Rhys. The snide little comments he made that left Gwen grinning were giving Buffy a very high opinion of the man. Jack's few stories about him only added to that.

"So, since the tour was cut short earlier...," she started with a smile. "Any good clubs in the area?" Perhaps a bit of a random question, but it was very pertinent in the life of Buffy.

Jack looked at Ianto, the youngest member of their group, but he just shrugged. "Why are you looking at me?" he said with a bit of a frown. "You know where I spend my evenings." He looked over at Buffy apologetically. "I'm sure there _are_ good clubs, but I haven't been out clubbing in years. I can tell you which ones people _say_ are good, but I wouldn't vouch for them personally."

Sighing dramatically, Buffy set her chin in her palm and leaned on the table. "Guess I'll just have to find the good ones _myself_ ," she said, making it sound like it was such an inconvenience. "It's kinda a Slayer-Buffy thing," she explained. "Gotta let out some energy, and since this place is mostly vamp-free, dancing is the next best option."

Jack grinned. "Unless your boyfriend finds his way over here," he countered.

Buffy rolled her eyes and sank back against her chair. "I should have seen that coming," she muttered to herself. " _So_ should have seen it."

Rhys leaned forward a bit with genuine, not at all flirty curiosity. "You've got a boyfriend? That's one lucky bloke."

She grinned and nodded her agreement. "That's what he says," she said, doing that beaming thing her sister usually gagged over.

"Oh, and he knows the right answers," Jack joked. "Sounds like a keeper," he told her with a wink.

"We've been dating for six years, he'd _better_ have learned the right answers by now!" she exclaimed with a laugh, and Gwen's eyes went wide as she joined in.

Rhys shook his head and took a long drink of much-needed alcohol. "He'd have been more than an idiot not to," he informed Buffy with an almost dopey smile. "Take Gwen here out of the runnin', and you're definitely the prettiest girl in the bar."

Raising her glass in a salute, the blonde said, "I knew I liked you, Rhys."

Jack and Ianto exchanged a look.

"I think Rhys is in _love_ ," Jack said dramatically.

" _Again_ ," Ianto added, raising an eyebrow at Gwen.

The look of utter confusion and distress on Rhys' face had Buffy in stitches and nearly falling off her chair. Gwen just smacked her own forehead.

Well, this reaction only encouraged them.

Ianto took a nonchalant sip of his beer before looking at Jack. "Do you think he just as a fetish for women that can kill him with their bare hands?" he inquired as though he were asking about the weather.

"Well, that _is_ pretty hot," Jack conceded, matching Ianto's casual tone.

Rhys clearly didn't like where this all seemed to be going, but didn't know what to say for fear of it being the extremely _wrong_ thing and landing him on the couch that night. His mouth hung open as he made fish faces, looking back and forth between the people at the table.

"Alright now, that's enough," Gwen finally tried, pointing a finger at Jack and Ianto, knowing neither was innocent in the matter.

Buffy had to get through another few giggles before she could try to help. "Yes, while it _is_ apparently really hot when women can kick ass, maybe the torturing of Rhys should be continued later, when he's a bit more drunk," she suggested to the two troublemakers.

"It's no fun when he's drunk," Jack stated with some authority, as though he had experience in the matter.

"And he tends to get himself into trouble," Ianto added.

Jack nodded in agreement. "Liquid courage gives him the need to answer back."

"A bad idea all around," Ianto added helpfully.

Poor Buffy just watched Rhys as he seemed to just sink into his chair. She knew what he was thinking. He couldn't fight back, because Gwen would get angry. He couldn't leave, because Gwen would get angry. All he could was sit there and wait for it to stop or for Gwen to get angry at someone else.

" _Seriously_ , you two," Gwen tried again, narrowing her eyes at her male teammates. "You can stop harassing my husband now."

" _You_ said you wanted us to make him feel like part of the group," Ianto pointed out.

"You really have to make up your mind," Jack told her.

"If we're all about making people feel like part of the group," Buffy interjected, "shouldn't I be getting all harassed, too? I _am_ the newbie here, after all. Isn't that some sort of initiation thingie?" It had been quite a while since she'd _been_ a newbie, so maybe she'd just missed the memo.

"We can do that at work," Ianto told her.

"You're around _all_ the time," Jack agreed.

Ianto frowned thoughtfully. "Didn't we spend half the afternoon doing that?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think we managed to squeeze it in somewhere between the Invisible Lift and you getting that bruise on your face."

"Watch it."

"Right, we were talking about Rhys anyway."

Buffy just stared at the two of them, realizing she was going to have to build up an arsenal to combat their dastardly duo. She was about to just shrug and leave poor Rhys to fend for himself when an idea popped into her cute little blonde head.

Picking up her drink, she downed the half a glass that had been sitting there and then gave the delicate glass a demonstrative shake to show that it was clearly empty. "Hey, Rhys, would you mind getting me another?" she asked innocently, and nearly died when the man shot out of his seat and headed for the bar.

Jack looked down the table at her. "That's _one_ way to get a guy to buy you a drink," he commented with a smirk.

"He's not that hard done by," Ianto told her. "Anyway, I thought you liked winding people up," he added with a pointed look. Her stated propensity for trying to get _him_ flustered was all the precedent he needed. He didn't see why Rhys should get a free pass.

" _You_ can fight back," Buffy pointed out, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Rhys has to make sure he didn't piss off Gwen, or he'll end up in the married man doghouse."

"Oi," Gwen protested, then apparently couldn't think of anything to follow it up with, so just took a long drink of her rum and coke instead. It _was_ kinda true.

Jack laughed as Gwen's protest died a quick death. "Can't argue with that," Jack admitted. He looked at Gwen. "Though Rhys must be fitting in just fine with the group, if Buffy's protecting him," he pointed out.

The girl in question rolled her eyes and picked up a napkin from the table, folding it into some weird origami-esque shape since she didn't have a drink to play with. "He's _sweet_ ," she informed Jack with a very distinct _look_. "Reminds me of my friend Xander. First friend I made after I did the whole moving to a Hellmouth thing back in high school." Good memories.

Jack nodded. "He _is_ sweet," he agreed. He looked at Ianto. "Don't you think he's sweet?"

"Very sweet," Ianto confirmed.

"He doesn't actually remind me of anyone," Jack continued. "But I guess we'll be going easy on him if he's making you nostalgic," he added with a smirk.

The women at the table shared an exasperated look, followed by Buffy shaking her head and tossing aside the now wadded up napkin. It bounced along for a moment before skittering off the edge of the table.

"I don't know why I bother," she told Gwen, then turned narrowed eyes on Jack and Ianto. "You two are incorrigible. Especially you, Mr. Swishy Coat."

Jack raised an indignant eyebrow. "My coat doesn't _swish_ ," he pointed out. "It billows."

Ianto turned his gaze to Buffy as well. "You pretty much deserve any abuse you get from me, at this point, Miss Dishes It Out All Day."

Buffy laughed in an amused, absolutely not at all innocent way. "I do, don't I?" she agreed with a grin.

She spotted Gwen's gaze move to over her shoulder and turned to see Rhys carefully approaching the table with another apple-tini in hand. "'s it safe to come back, or should I put in for a retreat?" he asked with a glance between Buffy and his wife.

Gwen chuckled quietly and gestured for him to sit down. "I think you're safe now, they've moved on to other things." Rhys was visibly relieved and handed the drink to a smiling vampire slayer.

 

They passed the evening with a couple more drinks and a lot more questions for Buffy once things loosened up, many of which Jack already knew the answers to. Like he'd told Ianto: they'd chatted in that extratemporal prison.

It was shortly after midnight when Jack looked at his watch.

"Alright, best finish up this round and call it a night," he suggested. "You're still due in at nine in the morning," he reminded them.

Buffy downed the rest of her drink as Rhys began to again sort of lean into Gwen. After the little opening routine, he'd _definitely_ loosened up and shown the rest of them just how much he could drink... and where his limit was. The dopey look on his face really was a lot like Xander's.

"You're such a slave-driver, Harkness," she informed him with a scrunched-up-nose face before leaning back in her chair to stretch. "But, works for me. I've got a phone date to get to; he should be waking up about now for the night shift."

Jack laughed and addressed the rest of them. "You heard her, people. Drink up and get out. Buffy's got phone sex to get to!" he exclaimed. 

Ianto rolled his eyes as he got up and grabbed Jack's coat. He slid it up over Jack's shoulders as the captain slipped his arms into the sleeves, then went over to the bar to pay their tab.

Buffy joined Ianto in a round of rolling eyes, then smirked at the way Rhys had seemingly perked up at the mention of sex. Such a guy.

While Gwen kept her husband from being plastered to the table, Buffy pulled on her own coat. "I'm almost dreading the day when you two actually meet," she told Jack as she checked to make sure the new cell phone was still safe in the pocket where she'd hid it after it was nearly coated in apple-tini. "He's going to get _so many_ ideas."

"He will after I give him some ideas!" Jack replied cheerfully. 

He glanced over his shoulder, but Ianto was stuck behind a drunk who was trying to pay with his card and seemed to be having trouble entering his PIN. Ianto caught Jack's eyes and shrugged. Jack turned his attention back to Buffy. "So," he continued. "Speaking of the day we two actually meet... when do you think _that_ will be?" he asked casually.

Buffy glanced over to see that somehow Gwen had ended up in Rhys' lap and the two were giggling at each other. Ah, newlyweds. They never stopped being sickeningly sweet.

"Not for a very long time, if I have anything to say about it," she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "But since I probably _don't_... who knows. He likes to pop up unannounced sometimes. Having a job that pays to travel makes it kinda easy for him, and he loves it." Maybe a little too much, now that she thought about it.

Jack followed Buffy's gaze over to Gwen and Rhys, who were quite thoroughly wrapped up in each other now, in more than one sense of the word. "You two can go," Jack told them in a sing-song voice. "Ianto doesn't need your help paying the bill."

Buffy giggled as Gwen dragged Rhys up out of the chair and grabbed their coats. 

"Right then, see you lot tomorrow!" Gwen called as they headed toward the front of the bar, managing to weave between people with relatively few casualties along the way.

Gwen and Rhys had departed and Ianto hadn't returned. Jack looked at Buffy, his expression serious again. "Do you want a lift home?" he asked. There was no teasing in his voice. It wasn't that he didn't think she could look after herself, but she _was_ new to the city and the Hub wasn't far away.

Leaning her hip against the table, she glanced at Ianto and then back to Jack with a raised eyebrow. "Are you two gonna be able to behave yourselves that long?" she questioned him with a smirk. She knew the offer was serious, and was actually considering it, not looking forward to potentially getting lost in the middle of the night and ending up in even more desperate need of caffeine come morning.

Jack looked over at Ianto. "While he's wearing _that_?" he commented. He smirked. "Maybe," he said wickedly. He looked back at Buffy. "Honestly, we can give you a lift. It's no trouble."

Smiling softly, she nodded and looked up at him with that friendly, trusting gaze he'd earned during those weeks together. "A 'lift' would be great," she agreed, using the British terminology.

Returning her attention to Ianto, Buffy smirked. "He _does_ look really good in that, doesn't he?" she said, stating the oh so obvious.

Jack grinned wolfishly. "I think I'm going to peel it off with my teeth," he said by way of agreement.

She laughed loudly and shook her head. "He really is going to get so many ideas," she said to herself, not entirely sure it was a bad thing.

Ianto returned to find them both laughing and eyed them suspiciously. "Do I want to know?" he asked warily.

"We're driving Buffy home," Jack told him.

Ianto nodded, still looking at them with suspicion. He was clearly still missing the punchline, but he didn't ask. 

They headed for the door and Jack slipped his hand into Ianto's, intertwining their fingers. "Do you know how to get to Buffy's flat?" he asked. Ianto just gave him a _look_ that asked if there was someplace in Cardiff Jack thought Ianto _didn't_ know how to get to.

It was only once they'd gotten to the Hub and climbed into the SUV that Buffy felt at all motivated to potentially warn Ianto of his impending doom. "I hope you've got more of that neat paperwork," she said from her spot lounging in the back, "because I don't think Jack intends for your outfit to make it back to your closet without some strategically placed collateral damage."

Ianto glanced in the rearview mirror with a small degree of mortified shock, which he attempted to hide by turning his attention intently to the steering wheel while he started the car's engine. It wasn't Jack's potential intentions that had garnered the reaction - he was well aware of the kinds of things Jack got up to and, in fact, encouraged them - but the fact that he seemed to have discussed them with Buffy. Could he not leave them alone for five minutes? He looked over at Jack uncertainly. Jack smiled back and reached over to give his knee a reassuring squeeze.

Buffy giggled quietly and settled in for the ride, watching the city's lights streak past the window, getting to once again appreciate the beauty night could possess. So many years as the Slayer had dulled her appreciation for the little things; perhaps this new gig would help to set things right again.

When they finally came to a stop outside her building, she was more than a little sleepy, and more than a little eager to get away from the two of them, now that Jack had that look in his eye. They were definitely going to have a late night. She envied them.

Opening the door, she gave the obnoxiously adorable couple a smile and a little wave before climbing out. "See you two in the morning," she said. "Bright and _early_ ," she stressed sarcastically in Jack's general direction.

"I don't even need to sleep!" he called back before rolling up his window. He always told people that, but it wasn't, strictly, true. He did need to sleep, it was just that sleep deprivation wouldn't harm him as much as other people and certainly wouldn't kill him. He could go _longer_ without sleep and without noticing the effects of a lack of it. He liked sleeping though. Well, he liked it _now_. It had been less alluring when he was alone.

Ianto drove them back to the Hub and parked the SUV in its usual spot for the night. He knew exactly how many clean suits he had in Jack's closet at any given time. There were three in there now, but he wasn't giving much thought to what to wear the next day. 

Jack took his hand again as they walked into the Hub.

Buffy watched the SUV disappear around a corner before turning to head up to her apartment. She took the stairs, like always, not minding the few flights if it lessened her chances of getting stuck in an elevator. She didn't trust the world enough anymore to provide that sort of temptation and not expect _something_ to act on it.

Walking into the darkened apartment, she nearly fell over a pile of boxes before she could fumble her way into the kitchen. Her things were piled onto the counter, where they would be at least relatively safe, and then she made a beeline for her phone. A few actually memorized numbers later, she collapsed onto her bed and curled up with the phone pressed to her ear.

"Hey you, am I late?"


	11. Introducing Captain Hart

Ianto set Buffy's coffee on her desk as she entered the Hub, as he often did in the morning, provided he wasn't busy with something more urgent. That morning, exactly one month after Buffy arrived at Torchwood, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. In fact, between them, Jack and Ianto had arranged it that way.

There was a file on Buffy's desk with a report from the day before that she had to fill out the remaining portion of. On top of the file was a note, informing her that Jack wished to speak to her when she had the chance. It told her to see Ianto, since Jack was working in a different area of the Hub that morning. By the time Buffy reached her desk, Ianto was already at his own station studiously working. He barely looked up when she came in.

"Morning," he said distractedly as he shuffled through some papers.

"Morning," Buffy echoed just as distractedly as she slowly made her way into what she'd dubbed the Lobby. Her concentration was not on the innocently preoccupied Welshman off to the side, but on the contents of the bag she was currently rifling through. She was _trying_ to find the cell phone that kept buzzing at her, clinking against keys and a stake and the various other things living in her newly purchased, very gorgeous purse.

Why was the phone buzzing at her? Because one Dawn Summers, who had stayed with Buffy over the most recent weekend, had decided it would be fun to make sure her sister got to work on time. And woke up on time. And had her midnight snack of time. A multitude of alarms had been set for a multitude of reasons and if Buffy never heard the word 'multitude' again, it would be too soon.

With a cry of victory, she finally wrestled the thing out of the bag and pressed the button that would stop the damn buzzing. She dropped into the chair at her station and glared down at the thing, wondering if Ianto would fix it if he heard how she planned on murdering the thing the next time it buzzed at her.

Glancing over at him, she sighed and guessed he'd probably give her a flat no. So she swiveled her chair around toward the delicious smell of awaiting coffee... and raised an eyebrow at the note on the desk.

"Ooookay...," she muttered to herself, looking over at Ianto again, then shook her head and took a long drink of the yummy chocolately coffee. It was the perk-up she needed to get the stupid paperwork done. It didn't even take her a full hour! She considered it an esteemed accomplishment.

Hauling herself out of her chair, she wandered over to Ianto with note in hand and leaned on the wall beside his station. "Alright, Almighty Caffeinated One," she started, giving the piece of paper a little wave, "I'm ready to find out what the sitch is."

Ianto didn't look up from what he was doing yet. "What the what is?" he asked absently. Something occurred to him and he _did_ look at Buffy before she could answer the previous question. "What was going on with your mobile this morning?" he asked. "And why were you looking at it the way you were looking at that Frissonite that stained your new shoes last week?" he added. "You know it's inanimate and, thus, probably immune to the Buffy Glare of Doom, right?"

She rolled her eyes at his comparison, because really, she was sure the gooey guy had gotten a much meaner look with a lot more threat to it, and decided to completely ignore the latter part of the questioning. If she tried answering it, _he_ might get the Glare of Doom and then no one would be happy.

"The evil that is my little sister decided to alarmify my phone," she explained with a unhappy pout. "She knows I can't figure out how to turn them all off, and last night she even _called_ five minutes after one of them just to laugh at me. I even threatened to show her boyfriend the photos of her with four foot long neon green nose hair and all she did was hang up on me."

Ianto raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Why would she... 'alarmify' your phone?" he asked, clearly finding the word 'alarmify' just a little bit painful.

"Because she's evil?" Buffy said, as if that should be answer enough. "And she's also found it hard to grasp the concept that I actually do manage to get to work on time. Mostly."

Ianto nodded imperturbably. " _Why_ can't you figure out how to unalarmify it?" he asked mildly. He knew she wasn't great with the technical stuff, but sometimes he liked to make her say it.

She narrowed her eyes at him in that way that left both Xander and Rhys running for the hills. "Because Buffy and technology are unmeshy things," she explained for the fiftieth time, knowing by now that he just did it to get at her. "And _you_ are so not getting a Christmas present this year."

Ianto smiled ever so slightly. "I find there's a great deal more pleasure to be had in the non-material things in life," he told her airily. It wasn't his fault - she started this game. He was just good at following through and finishing things. It was his specialty. People around there should know better, really.

He took the note from her hand and read it over. "Ah," he said in comprehension as he handed it back to her. "This way." He lead her towards the stairs to the sublevels.

She continued to watch him with narrowed eyes for a moment before stuffing the note in the pocket of her pinstriped slacks and following him. Her boots clanked on the metal grating and then made solid clops on the stone floors as she began to realize that she had absolutely no idea where they were going. The sublevels reminded her a bit too much of Sunnydale's sewers for her to go wandering about in them just for kicks, so she'd never ventured away from the places that were actually used with a decent amount of frequency. Now she almost wished that she had; she really hated surprises. They tended to end badly.

Ianto had told Jack they were on their way down with a brief text message as Buffy was heading over to his station. When they got to sublevel three, Ianto lead her down a narrow corridor to a room where Jack was waiting outside the battered metal door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.

"Buffy," he said with a nod in greeting.

Buffy stopped in front of Jack, eying the way he was just... standing there. Oh, this was not good. This was so not of the good. "Okay, boys, what's going on?" she finally questioned, hands on her hips as she looked back and forth between the two men. They _were_ the troublemakers on the team. "Is this Play Pranks on Buffy Day? Because, really, I thought that was last week when our cute guard dog decided she was going to leave chocolate bits all over my station." There were _post_ -chocolate bits too, but she doubted they needed that reminder.

"At least if she's eating chocolate, she's not eating the staff," Ianto pointed out. "Or sheep. Sheep bits all over your station is a lot more difficult to clean up."

Jack smirked at Ianto's answer, then resumed a more sober expression. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something much more serious," he told her. He looked at Ianto. "Thank you, Ianto."

Ianto nodded and left them alone.

Buffy's jaw dropped when Ianto just turned and left, but her look of disbelief was quickly replaced by a frustrated pout. "Okay, what did I do _this_ time?" she finally asked, throwing her hands up in the air as she began to nervously pace. She wasn't good with the whole team thing, she knew it, and being an employee instead of the boss... Well, there had been bumpy spots along the way over the past month, and she just knew this had to be about another one. "Whatever it was, I didn't _mean_ to, honestly. Was probably just trying to be helpful! You know me, Helpful Buffy!"

Jack nodded impassively. "Buffy," he said when he judged that she was done rambling. "I just want you to take a look at something for me, okay?" He pushed the door behind him open and gestured for her to enter.

She looked at him with suspicious, part of her jumping for joy that she hadn't majorly screwed up again, and the other part extremely doubtful that this was anything good. There was probably going to be a weevil in a pink tutu on the other side of the door, with her luck.

Finally, she rolled her eyes and stepped forward with a sigh, and was about to give a retort on how pink was so not her color when she actually saw what was inside the room. Her jaw hit the floor again as she continued in until she was at the center and could properly turn around and see everything.

"But... But he said stuff was backordered, and..." She couldn't even begin to form a coherent sentence as she took in the items carefully placed around the room. An industrial-strength punching bag, a wooden dummy for knife-throwing practice, swords hung along the wall... It was nothing like the back of the Magic Box had been, or the big training rooms at the New Council, but still it was perfect. "Ianto is such a _LIAR!_ " she exclaimed with a grin, charging over to Jack to throw her arms around him for a giant hug.

"It was his idea," Jack said, returning her hug. "Gwen thought we should have a dinner or something to celebrate your one-month anniversary. Ianto thought you'd appreciate this more," he explained with a sweeping gesture as he released her.

"Yay Ianto!" she said, voicing her approval of the idea as she nearly bounced with the glee that could only be brought on by weapons and weapony things. It was a Happy Buffy glow that brightened up the entire room. "Seriously, this is _amazing_ , and absolutely perfect."

"Well, I'm going to let you play for a bit," Jack told her. "I do have actual work I'm supposed to be doing," he joked. He looked at his watch. "I want to have a meeting in the conference room at eleven o'clock, okay?"

Actual work? Meetings? Jack was so lucky that she liked him. There were very few people who had the power to pull her away from something as shiny as a new training room in need of breaking in.

"Eleven, right, gotcha," she replied distractedly, unzipping her boots so she could walk barefoot across the only slightly cushy mat that covered the floor. The throwing knives were absolutely gorgeous, with a lovely polished shine to the blade... "Really, I'll be there," Buffy assured Jack with a grin, then gave one of the knives a practice throw. It landed right above the dummy's 'heart', which of course earned a Slayer happy dance.

Jack laughed. "You know, I'm going to have to ask Ianto if the throwing knives were _strictly_ necessary. I'm not sure how I feel about those," he joked.

She rolled her eyes at him, tossing another knife so it flipped in the air before catching it again with ease. "Oh come on," she told the dear Captain. "I'm _much_ safer with knives than I am with that cell phone."

"Hey," he reminded her, "you've gone a whole month without destroying that thing. New job, new city... maybe it's the start of a new relationship with pocket-sized technology," he suggested.

Snorting, Buffy tossed another knife at the dummy, this time hitting right where it would make a man the most uncomfortable. "Right," she said with a healthy dose of sarcasm. "You should ask Ianto about the latest developments in that saga."

Jack raised an eyebrow at her, leaning on the doorframe. "Well, he was a little too calm when he was down here for you to have _broken_ it," Jack pondered outloud. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Okay, I'll bite. What happened to it?"

She shook her head and waved him off. "Just ask Ianto," she directed dismissively. "I wouldn't want to deprive him of another chance at mocking me. That would just be cruel."

Jack smirked. "If you like," he said cheerfully. "See you at eleven." 

He left the training room and went up to the 'Lobby'. If he wasn't careful, Buffy was going to have them all calling it that. 

Ianto was at his station, doing something on his computer. It was hard to tell if it was important just from watching Ianto work. He wore the same expression of intense concentration in any endeavour he undertook. He could be writing an important report, doing research or playing minesweeper, for all Jack knew. He walked over to the archivist to find out what was up with Buffy's phone before their meeting in an hour's time.

 

Buffy spent that entire hour working up a sweat in her new training room, thoroughly enjoying herself. Well, working up a sweat was just a phrase of speech, of course. There were very few instances were she actually _did_ sweat during a workout, as per the Slayer package, but she finally managed to feel that sweet burn that meant she was using her muscles in all the right ways.

She was almost sad when the clock on the wall read five 'til, (the clock had _not_ been on her list, either, so it was most certainly one of Ianto's personal additions to the room,) but she did have an urge to shock a certain Coffee God with a giant, almost-bone-crushing hug. So she grabbed the sheer shirt she'd worn over her tanktop that day that had been tossed to the side when she'd started her fun, and headed upstairs.

She took the steps two at a time, in an unusually good mood for a Monday morning, since Mondays had become as cursed as Tuesdays in recent years, and nearly skipped into the Lobby. She was about to turn to go into the conference room when she noticed something on one of the monitors. The security camera outside... a figure walking toward the building, with an arrogant swagger to the walk... She'd know that walk anywhere.

Grinning, she hurried to the elevator, bouncing impatiently while the cog door took its sweet time rolling aside and nearly kicking the elevator to get it to move faster. And then, finally, she was running down the short hall and turning to skid into the little travel office.

He was already there, sitting in Ianto's chair with his feet propped up on the desk, a brochure held up to cover his face as he read in style. "What are you doing here?!" she demanded happily as she moved forward, prepared to plant a giant round of smoochies right on him as soon as he was in range. "You didn't say anything about visiting, you meanie, and, by the way, what are you _wear_ \--"

Her voice died as the man lowered the brochure and an instant later she had her gun pointed right at his head. "You aren't Spike." He looked like Spike, walked like Spike, but he definitely _wasn't_ Spike. There was no vampire feel to him, no kindness in his eyes when he looked at her. It took only one glance to tell her that this man was not the love of her life.

The self-styled _Captain_ John Hart had made his way to Cardiff to drop in on Jack. In truth, he needed some help. Bit of a sticky situation. These things happened. At any rate, he figured it'd be Jack that came up to 'greet' him. He'd just go down to the Hub himself, but last time he was there, Eye Candy looked ready to shoot him. If the Divine Ms Cooper hadn't gotten in between, he'd likely have an extra hole in his skull that he didn't need. He needed his handsome immortal buffer before he made the trip down the elevator.

What he _hadn't_ expected was the pert little blonde who'd seemed so happy to see him for a brief moment - quite an achievement, considering he'd never seen her before... but then, she apparently realized she'd never seen him either.

"What the hell kind of a name is Spike?" he asked bluntly. He took his feet down from the desk. "I'm looking for Jack. Why don't you run along and tell him Captain Hart is here to see him, okay?" he said condescendingly, making a little waving motion towards the secret passage with his hands.

Captain?! Hart?! _This_ was the psycho ex Jack had mentioned? The one who sounded a little too clingy for anyone's own good? Huh. Looks like she and Jack really did have similar tastes

Narrowing her eyes at the way the man seemed to be shooing her out of the room, she kept her gun trained on him just in case. One never knew with psycho ex-anythings. "Look, _Captain_ , why don't you just sit there and keep your mouth shut before you get a face full of my boot?" she suggested none too kindly, reaching for the phone on the desk and pushing the button that would connect to the Hub. 

"Jack," she said, imagining the look on her teammates' faces as her voice echoed around the stone walls downstairs, "if you wouldn't mind getting up to the tourist office now, you've got a visitor I'm about to make pulpy."

Jack was looking at the monitor before she even finished the sentence. "Great," he muttered. He looked between Ianto and Gwen. "I guess that meeting's postponed," he told them.

Ianto looked like he wanted to say something.

"Look, he helped us out last time," Jack told him. "I'll just see what he wants."

"He helped us out with a disaster that he _caused_ ," Ianto pointed out in a grumble.

Jack gave him a look and turned to go up to the tourist office. Ianto went unhappily back to his paperwork.

Buffy just stared at the Not Spike until she heard the door open again. "I was torn between the threat of shooting him or giving him a sound ass-kicking," she informed her boss, eyes never leaving the subject of the conversation. "The latter would be more fun for me, but the gun seems to have kept him in the chair."

Jack came up beside Buffy, putting a gentle hand on top of her gun and pressing it down towards the floor. "That won't be necessary," he told her. He looked at Hart pointedly. "Yet," he stressed.

Hart didn't move to get up yet. "I told you you needed a blonde," he pointed out cheerfully.

"Why are you here?" Jack asked, getting _right_ to the point. He wasn't any happier than his team to see the man sitting at Ianto's desk, but their history made him more willing to hear him out.

Hart spread his hands in a slightly exasperrated gesture. "Can't I even come in?" he asked.

Jack eyed him warily. "I don't see why," he said slowly. "You're not _staying_."

"I just want to have a little chat with you about a couple of things," Hart said vaguely. "We could go down to your office and talk like civilized people." He raised his eyebrows questioningly. 

Jack didn't say anything, just kept his most scrutinizing look on his ex-partner.

Hart leaned forward, looking at Buffy a little warily before turning an imploring gaze towards Jack. "I'm in trouble," he said, all lightness gone from his tone.

Jack didn't move. "So?" he asked coldly.

"It's _serious_ ," Hart hissed. "Not just for me. It could be bad for a lot of people."

Jack rolled his eyes with a weary sigh. "Fine. Come on." He stood back, gesturing for Buffy to do the same, so John could precede them into the passageway.

Buffy was ready to fall over by the time they started heading downstairs, the lookalike at the front of the line. She'd never been trigger-happy with her gun before, but now she really wanted to shoot him. In the knee, so he wouldn't be able to run away when she kicked him in the head.

Not only did he look _like_ Spike and _move_ like Spike, but he _sounded_ like Spike, too. Exactly. That same nonchalant and arrogant confidence born of many years of doing what he wanted, when he wanted, and not having anyone tell him no. It seemed that only his eyes were different...

"You sure I can't hit him?" Buffy inquired of Jack while they rode down, not bothering to try lowering her voice. "Just a punch or three, maybe break that nose so he doesn't look like my boyfriend's evil twin?" She sounded both pouty and hopeful all at the same time.

Jack looked at her oddly. " _What?_ " he asked sharply. He was going to get into possible explanations with her when they arrived at the cog door. The moment it opened Hart pulled his gun out and pointed it at Ianto, who was standing at his station, where Jack had left him. Admittedly, it was hard to see what he was doing on the other side of the coffee machine, but Jack hadn't expected quite this reaction from Hart.

"Don't try it, Eye Candy," Hart said darkly. "I don't _want_ to blow your pretty little head off."

Ianto frowned at him and looked at Jack, who was already striding into the middle of the room. From there, he _could_ see exactly what Ianto was doing. He looked at Hart.

"He's holding a _pen_ ," Jack informed Hart in an infuriated tone of voice. "Put that thing away!"

Hart almost reluctantly holstered the weapon. "Can't be too careful," he muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. "He tried to kill me last time I was here."

"You tried to kill us _first_ ," Ianto pointed out. "And everyone else, for that matter."

Jack put his hands up to stop the argument before it escalated into Hart reminding them all that he hadn't been the mastermind of that attack, though he _had_ carried it out, and gestured towards his office.

"Office," he barked at Hart. He headed after him, glancing over his shoulder at the other three members of Torchwood. "The rest of you can go back to your work," he said firmly.

Buffy watched them walk off, glowering at the man in the funky outfit that looked like something out of a trippy pirate movie, then made a decision. She hurried after the two men who had an encyclopedia of history, catching up just as they were entering Jack's office. She slid in before Jack could shut the door.

"You said go back to work," she explained before Jack could question her. " _This_ is my work." 

She went to Jack's desk where a tray of coffee had been sitting and removed everything from the tray before turning to approach the offending captain. "Weapons," she demanded, her voice and gaze made of steel. "All seven of them." She gave him a once-over and amended, "Make that eight."

ohn Hart was already seating himself in the chair across from Jack's desk when Buffy approached him. He put his feet up on the desk, raised an eyebrow at her, then looked past her at Jack.

Jack stood beside the desk and crossed his arms. "You heard the lady," he said non-commitally. Frankly, he would have preferred to handle the situation by himself, but he was going to back his people up before Hart.

Hart sighed in a long-suffering kind of way and pushed himself to his feet, making sure it was clear that all of this was both very silly and a great inconvenience. He dutifully began removing the weapons and placing them on the tray, looking Buffy over as he did so.

"You know," he said conversationally, "Eye Candy usually holds the tray." He gave her a flirty smile. "You're not a bad substitute though," he added, setting the last of his weapons down. He looked at Jack. "I want them _back_ this time."

Buffy had to concentrate very hard on not smacking that smile right off the bastard's face. Something weird was going on, and when weird involved Spike in any way, shape, or size, she was not a happy Slayer.

Balancing the full tray with one hand, she used the other to forcefully push the recently arrived pain in her ass back into his chair, keeping her hand firmly on his shoulder while she leaned in to speak. "Then you'd better come to terms with the fact that _he's_ not the one you have to sweet talk to get your toys back," she informed him before giving his shoulder a little pat and straightening up again.

"Have a nice chat," she called over her shoulder as she left the room.

Jack watched her go and waited for the door to close behind her before calmly moving around the desk to sit in his chair.

Hart, for his part, seemed pleasantly surprised more than anything else. He looked at Jack good-naturedly. "She's _very_ interesting," he commented. He leaned forward. "And _I_ thought Ms Cooper was fiery." He grinned wolfishly. "You just have good taste all around."

Jack didn't react. He just gave Hart an inquiring look. "You said you have a problem?" he reminded the former Time Agent. "Speak now or forever hold your peace."

 

Down in the Hub, Ianto cleaned the coffee machine fastidiously in an effort to avoid looking in the direction of Jack's office. He heard the door shut, the sound of Buffy's boots on the grating. He didn't look up from his work. He'd been hoping they wouldn't see Hart again. Ever. He supposed that was too much to ask. He briefly wondered if Buffy would notice that he was occupying himself with something he didn't usually do during the day, but quickly decided that he didn't care if she did. She didn't seem any happier to see Hart than the rest of them were. He _almost_ wondered why that was, since she'd never met him, but of course the answer would be that Jack had told her about him. Jack had, apparently, told her everything in two weeks that it had taken him two years to learn. He slammed the brush down on the counter and picked up a cloth.

Buffy's hands were tight around the tray of weapons, her grip almost to the point of accidentally bending the thing in half. Truthfully, she wanted to toss the whole lot into the water at the center of the lobby, or maybe find a pile of pterodactyl poop to nestle a gun or two in, but figured that could wait until the guy actually _did_ something to her. Then she could let her evil side out to play.

Gwen had apparently wandered off to take care of something, probably checking to make sure no other guests were about to spring themselves on the team, so that left Ianto. The quietly fuming Slayer made her way over to where he was cleaning, which really was kind of odd in itself, wasn't it?, and set the tray down on a nearby table. Leaning against said table, she crossed her arms and pouted. "I _really_ want to punch that guy."

"That's pretty much the popular opinion," Ianto replied without looking up. He carried on with his work in silence for a moment, but could see from his peripheral vision that Buffy was still leaning on the table. 

"What does he want?" Ianto asked grudgingly. He was curious to know if Hart had an actual reason for being there or if he was just making up excuses to see Jack.

She shrugged, not really much caring why the face thief was there so long as he left pronto. "Said he was in trouble," she mumbled, glaring up at Jack's office. "Big bad other people effected troubled." Otherwise she was fairly certain Jack would have thrown him out on his ear. She remembered the recent stories as being not so very pleasant.

Tilting her head, she pondered aloud, "Maybe a broken nose, and a scar... right along those gorgeous cheekbones..." Yeah, that would do it. Kill the resemblance good and dead.

He actually stopped what he was doing and looked at her at that last bit. " _What_?" he asked, confused.

Buffy blinked and looked back at Ianto. "What?" she repeated, wearing her own confused expression, then shook her head as realization dawned. "Oh, right. He looks like my boyfriend's evil twin clone. Sounds like him, too, the bastard. Well, the hair's different, but Spike bleaches his, so I guess that makes sense..."

Ianto looked at her for a long moment before he spoke. He put down the cloth he was using to clean the machine and took a deep breath. "Captain Hart looks like your boyfriend?" he clarified with a small amount of disbelief in his voice.

She nodded, giving Ianto a look that clearly said she didn't get what part of it he wasn't understanding. "Exactly," she confirmed. "Even the _walk_ is the same. It's... freaky." And she did not like it.

Ianto looked at her for another moment before picking up the brush again and turning his attention back to the machine. "Just be glad you didn't meet this one first, then," he advised as he worked. "He would have put you off the other one."

Buffy couldn't help it. A single, solitary laugh burst out of her, followed by a pause... and then a waterfall of giggles. "Well, to be fair," she forced out after nearly slipping off the table, "the first time I saw Spike, he told me he was going to kill me on Saturday. And then he spent the next few _years_ trying to fulfill that threat." 

Ah, memories.

"And I thought _my_ personal life was ridiculous," he said laconically. He put the brush down and looked at Buffy. "And if you want to break his nose, join the queue," he told her flatly. "I was here first." He picked up the brush again and turned his attention, once again, to meticulously scrubbing every nook in the machine's surface.

"That's fair," she agreed amicably, standing away from the table and stretching her arms up over her head. "Just don't kill the coffee machine, okay?" she requested, turning to head over to her own station. "And keep an eye on those weapons for me, will ya? Need to know where they are in case they go 'missing.'"

Oh yes, Buffy Summers was a woman not to be messed with.


	12. Just a Friendly Little Chat

Jack came out of his office after about forty minutes with Hart right in front of him. Right where Jack could see him, because Jack wouldn't have him anywhere else.

"Conference Room!" he called out as he walked through the Hub, directing Hart there ahead of him.

Ianto had thoroughly cleaned the coffee machine and had moved on to tidying his very tidy workspace when Jack and Hart emerged. He spared a glare at them as they passed, unsure of whether he was glaring at Hart or the situation in general. Clearly, Jack thought whatever Hart had come here to say had some merit, because they were having a meeting about it instead of, say, having Buffy toss Hart out of the Tourist Office in an unceremonious heap. He put down the file he was sorting out and followed the group down to the sublevels.

Buffy jerked up at the sound of Jack's voice, the little cup of pens and pencils falling into her lap, a few of them rolling to the floor. She'd resorted to her old balancing act during the long stretch of boredom -- it had been something to do while imagining the many ways to make this impostor _not_ look like her scrumptious boyfriend. Of course, she'd contemplated going back down to her shiny new training room and practicing those ideas, but she'd wanted to be right there when Jack came out again, so...

She tossed the heap of writing utensils onto her desk, a few more rolling back to clatter to the floor as she hurried after the others.

Ianto glanced back at her suspiciously as she hurried up behind him. "What was that clattering noise?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. Really, he just wanted to avoid thinking about Hart. And Hart and Jack. Mostly Hart and Jack.

"Uhm...," Buffy stuttered, suddenly feeling like she was back in high school, with Giles asking her one of those Slayer questions she was supposed to know the answer to, but definitely hadn't. "Nothing!" Another few steps and she just couldn't avoid his pointed gaze anymore. "I'll clean it up," she half-grumbled, half-pouted.

He was about to point out that that wasn't what he'd asked her, but they'd reached the conference room. Jack was standing at the far end and Hart was slouched lazily in the chair to one side of him with one foot on the table. Ianto took the chair on Jack's other side, opposite Hart, giving him a glare for good measure as he sat down.

Buffy took the chair beside Hart, leaving the one next to Ianto for Gwen, which was just fine with the Welsh woman. After the poisonous kiss incident, she hadn't been particularly fond of the man. The incident with Gray hadn't helped her opinion of him any.

Buffy, for her part, wanted to be within smacking range. Just in case.

Hart gave Buffy an appreciative leer. "Well, hello Blondie," he said cheerfully. "Did you drop by to return my belongings?"

"Enough," Jack told him, a warning note in his voice.

Hart was undeterred. He spared Jack a glance, then turned his gaze back to Buffy. "He's the jealous type, you know. Gets all grumpy when I look at other people," he said, looking Buffy _over_ more than looking _at_ her.

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't move to stop his looking. He'd only be encouraged by that. Well, she was pretty sure he'd be encouraged by _anything_ she did, at this point. "Really?" she questioned sarcastically. "I thought he got grumpy when we had unwanted visitors. My mistake."

Gwen smirked. She'd certainly come to appreciate Buffy's unique way of doing things over the month they'd worked together.

"I wouldn't know," Hart replied smoothly. "I've never had to see him deal with one."

Jack, standing at the head of the table with his arms crossed, cleared his throat loudly.

Hart turned his head towards Jack lazily and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I thought you called this an 'emergency'," Jack said, unconvinced.

Hart shrugged. "If you call the potential deaths of millions an emergency..."

Jack turned his gaze to everyone _else_ at the table and spoke over any further comment Hart might have.

"It would seem our ' _guest_ ' has been selling alien artifacts," he announced.

"You can't get far on the Earth without local currency!" Hart protested.

"So get off of it," Ianto suggested dryly.

Gwen chimed in with a, "I second that idea," in a very perturbed tone.

"I third it," Buffy agreed, adding, "as long as I get to kick his ass before he goes." She wouldn't dare pass up the opportunity if it was presented.

Jack, for his part, ignored the interruption and carried on as Hart gave his team the evil eye.

"He, apparently, _accidentally_ sold a Warp Star that was inside another, much more _harmless_ artifact..." Here he gave Hart another deeply unconvinced look.

"Hey," Hart argued, "why would I sell a _Warp Star_ to a human on _purpose_?"

"Because the only consolation is money?" Ianto suggested coldly, repeating Hart's words to him at the British Gas building. He turned to Jack. "What's a Warp Star?" His tone was all business. He was unimpressed with Hart, the fact that he kept showing up to cause them all trouble and the fact that Jack still hadn't neutralized the threat he posed properly, like he would have done if the man was an alien. The very least they could have done was wipe his memory and dump him somewhere. Jack hadn't, and Ianto was convinced the reasons were _all_ sentimental ones. He certainly didn't like the idea that Jack had any remaining 'sentiments' for Hart.

"Wait, I know this!" Buffy exclaimed, her eyes a little wider than usual. "One of the people on that ship thing had one of those, right?" she questioned Jack. In usual Buffy fashion, exact names and descriptive features didn't really make it into her vocabulary. "It's like... a tiny, tiny bomb with a not-so-tiny explosion."

Gwen looked at her oddly for a moment, then turned her attention to Jack. She certainly hadn't heard _that_ detail from Jack's recent adventure helping to save reality. He'd pretty much glossed over the details, going for the big, broad ideas instead. While her boss had gotten better about letting them in on bits of his life, he still had a tendency to under-share.

Ianto also glanced at Buffy, then at Jack. He'd put on that implaccable expression he wore as a mask, by then. Jack would know what it meant. He didn't want Hart to see him glare icy daggers at their leader as, _again_ , he'd told Buffy everything and them nothing.

Jack's gaze lingered on Ianto for just a moment before it flicked around to each of the other occupants of the room. "That's correct," he said. "We need to recover the Warp Star without the 'customer' realizing what he has and without setting it off."

"Quicker would be better," Hart added. "Set off in the wrong place..." he let his voice trail off ominously and made an 'explosion' motion with his hands.

Ianto rolled his eyes and looked at Jack, rather than Hart. "And where, exactly, was it sold?"

"London," Hart answered quickly. "Roadtrip!" He looked at Jack with a lascivious grin. "Do I get to pick my own roommate?" he asked innocently, pointedly sliding his eyes down Jack's body.

Ianto contemplated shooting Hart under the table as Jack gave the former Time Agent a withering glance. He laughed sharply. " _You're_ not _coming_ ," he told Hart, as though he didn't understand why that hadn't been obvious to the other man. "But don't worry," he added in a mock-sympathetic tone. "I have a nice roommate for you. Six feet tall? Growls a lot? She'll keep you company while you pace around in your room downstairs."

"You're not locking me in the _cells_!" Hart exclaimed. "You don't even know how long you'll be gone."

"Better ration your food, then," Ianto advised sagely. Hart glared at him.

Buffy smirked and advised the protesting man, "I think this is the perfect opportunity for, oh, what was it my Watcher called it... Oh yeah, 'self-reflection'. Maybe reevaluate your current direction in life. Plan to scope out a career fair."

Gwen was too far gone by the end of Buffy's speech to keep in her laughter. It was a precious thing to see someone who didn't let Hart get to them.

Jack turned to Ianto. "Will you make the arrangements, please? I want to be in London by supper time." He looked at Gwen. "Take _him_ with you and find out everything you can about the buyer," he told her, inclining his head towards Hart. He looked at Buffy. "You go with them and watch him."

When Jack finished talking, everyone got up from the table and headed back upstairs.

 

Ten minutes into the question-and-answer session, Buffy was ready to shoot _Captain_ John Hart right in the head. She didn't think Gwen would protest. The other woman looked to be on the verge of pulling out her own hair to strangle him with. They'd been going round in circles, Hart avoiding giving much more than tiny bits of information in between his infuriating routine, and it was getting on Buffy's last nerve.

"A few more details about the buyer's security system _would_ be helpful," Gwen growled out, very close to losing it completely. Buffy just watched, hoping the show started soon.

Ianto was tired of listening to Hart's voice and absolutely sick of looking at Hart's stupid face. He didn't linger at his work station. He grabbed a few things and headed down to his desk in the archives to carry out Jack's instructions.

Jack hung around, watching Gwen and Buffy trying to look up information in the system based on the intentionally sparse information Hart was grudgingly giving them before he got restless and headed down to the archive himself. If Hart didn't cooperate by the time they were ready to leave, _Jack_ would ask for the information and Hart wasn't going to like it.

Jack strolled through the cool, still archives until he reached Ianto's desk. Ianto didn't turn or look up from whatever he was doing on the computer. Jack perched on his desk next to his elbow.

"How's it going?" he asked casually.

"We can leave in about two hours," he said. "We should be in London around six pm."

Jack nodded. He noticed how Ianto's tone was strictly clinical and his posture was tense. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I don't like him here," Ianto said tersely. "He's dangerous."

"I know," Jack conceded. "But a Warp Star is _more_ dangerous. Especially in London. The sheer number of people that would be killed if it went off..."

"Ah. Right. And why does _Buffy_ even know what a Warp Star is?" he asked.

Jack sighed and slid off the desk so he was standing beside Ianto's chair. "I explained this already..."

"You chatted," Ianto said flatly. "I know." He finally looked up at Jack. "The Warp Star thing is _relevant_ to our work, Jack. Why would you tell a _stranger_ what happened on the Crucible, but you won't tell us?"

"What, Buffy's a _stranger_ now?"

"She was when you _told_ her," Ianto argued.

Jack took a deep breath and ran a hand absently along the back of Ianto's collar. "Look, that place... I don't know what it did to us. Things were different there. I'm sorry."

It was when Gwen started turning a shade of reddish-purple that Buffy pushed her toward the lift and told her to go get some air up top. Despite the fact that she didn't want to be left all alone with the Spike-wannabe, her teammate's sanity ranked a little higher than her own mental health needs.

Narrowing her eyes in Hart's direction, Buffy angled her chair so she'd be able to see him out of the corner of her eye while she continued searching the computer systems for information. "Try anything and I start breaking ribs," she informed him. "A person can lead a very active lifestyle with broken ribs... Just a little more pain and wheezing." She should known, she'd had more than enough nights of being a little worse for wear after long hours of slayage.

Jack emerged from the archive and walked over to where Buffy was working at Gwen's computer. Hart sat nearby. Gwen was nowhere to be seen.

Jack frowned. "Where's Gwen?" he asked.

"Upstairs," Buffy answered distractedly. "Pretending she doesn't want to kill _him_." A few more keystrokes and the blonde woman was making an enraged growling-yell at the computer before shoving herself away from it.

"I bet he did this on purpose!" she exclaimed at Jack, pointing at the completely not innocent-looking man in question. "I can't find _anything_!" It didn't help that computers were still the bane of her existence.

"Go upstairs and help Gwen, or downstairs and help Ianto," Jack told her without even looking at her. His eyes were on Hart. He pulled up a chair and sat directly opposite the other man, but didn't speak. He wasn't going to until Buffy had done as he'd asked and left the room. Hart, on the other hand, was beginning to look uneasy. He looked at Buffy.

Well, _that_ didn't look good. For Hart, anyway. And well, they did kinda need him alive and coherent for at least a little while longer. Not that she was concerned for him, she just didn't want London to be completely destroyed.

"You sure?" she questioned hesitantly, standing and leaning against her desk. "If we're pulling out the big guns, I could-"

The world tilted and Buffy fell forward as she completely lost her balance, her vision going white as images forced themselves into her mind. A small, shining gemstone rolling across pavement, a red double-decker bus in the background. It was like she was crouching down to pick it up, she could see her own hand reaching for it, when an elegant gloved one beat her to it. She looked up as the figure stood, a displeased look on her face. The Queen. Why was the Queen in the middle of a busy London street. _Isn't it pretty, Slayer? So very pretty_... were the words that flittered through her mind, moments before the world in the vision exploded, the sound resonating in her mind.

She gasped and blinked at the concrete floor of the hub, like she expected it to fall away at any moment.

Jack and Hart both stood up as Buffy fell, but Jack shoved Hart roughly back into his chair. Considering the look Jack had just been giving him, Hart wisely decided not to get up again. He'd seen that look before and it wasn't one he'd ever wanted to be on the receiving end of. He hadn't, in fact, thought Jack ever _would_ look at him like that because he didn't think Jack had it in him to do the things that it implied.

Jack crouched and gently put a hand on Buffy's arm. "Buffy?" he asked, concern lacing his voice. "Buffy?"

She took a second to catch her breath, waiting to make sure the ground really wouldn't collapse from under her if she moved, then looked up at Jack. "I'm good," she told him, reaching up to set her hand over his. "No dying here, promise."

He gave her a stern look. "What happened?" he asked. He wasn't going to have her shrugging it off. She'd just passed out in the middle of the Hub. What if she passed out in the middle of a fight?

Now that she knew for certain what was going on, Buffy wasn't about to try hiding it from Jack. Especially not after what she'd just seen. 

"Remember how I mentioned that Slayers have those visiony dream things sometimes?" she questioned, knowing he'd remember it with perfect clarity. "Kinda just had one. And uh, wasn't pretty."

Jack pulled her to her feet, glancing darkly at Hart. He released her in the direction of the stairs to the archives with a gentle shove. "Go see Ianto," he told her in a tone that broached no argument, already turning back towards Hart. 

Hart tried to look like he wasn't trying not to squirm in his seat. He would have outright asked Buffy not to leave him alone with Jack, if he thought speaking was a good idea just then. It would probably only provoke his former partner. The irony of the fact that being alone with Jack was _usually_ his goal wasn't entirely lost on him.

Buffy looked back only once before carefully making her way downstairs to the archives, Ianto's favorite hiding place. She caught a reflection of herself in a glass door as she passed, and nearly cringed at how pale she had become. It reminded her of what they'd heard had happened to Cordelia over time, as the PTB's visions got more and more powerful over time. What if...

She didn't linger on those thoughts, instead pushing herself forward until she reached the room that was basically her teammate's personal domain.

Ianto looked up when he heard footsteps that definitely didn't belong to Jack coming towards his desk. Buffy was approaching, looking pale and a little shaken.

"What's going on?" he asked mildly. "Are you alright? Jack's cut the security feeds from the main Hub."

"He's having a little 'chat' with our 'guest'," she told Ianto in a much more subdued voice than normal as she walked over to his desk and unceremoniously plopped onto the floor beside it. Was kinda nice to just _sit_ and not feel like the ground was moving. "He actually looked a little scared -- you'd have liked seeing it," she said, managing a tiny smirk.

Truthfully, Ianto appeared a little alarmed at the implication, rather than pleased. He looked down at where she sat on the floor.

"There's another chair just there," he said with a nod towards the other side of his desk. She still looked poorly and her voice was uncharacteristically low, but he'd already asked once if she was alright and she hadn't answered. He didn't push it, but he was keeping an eye on her.

As soon as he'd finished speaking, he could hear Buffy's phone starting to buzz and did a bad job of suppressing an amused smile. "What's that?" he asked. "It's a bit late for lunch."

She looked up at him with an equally uncharacteristic mild glare and pulled the buzzing object from her pocket, the alarm symbol hopping around on the screen, mocking her. She pressed the usual button to end the buzzing, but... it had no effect. She tried again. Again, nothing happened. She tried accessing the menu, remembering there was something in there that controlled alarms...

The more times she tried and failed, the more frantic her expression became, her frayed nerves finally sending her over the edge. The phone flew from her hand and out into the hall, where it hit the wall and fell to the concrete with a clatter of many pieces.

There were very few times when Buffy completely lost it in front of people, and this time it had happened in front of someone who wasn't Jack. This wasn't good.

Ianto could see she was becoming frustrated with it, the mirth very quickly leaving the situation. He had started to reach for it, to offer his help, when she suddenly whipped it at the wall. The archives had concrete walls and floors and the Slayer had super strength. The phone literally shattered. 

He flinched slightly at the sound of it exploding into fragments, turning to look at the electronic carnage before returning his gaze to Buffy. "Feel better?" he asked dryly.

"Sorry," she mumbled, leaning forward to wrap her arms around her legs so she could hide her face in them. "I'll pay for it." She knew it was mostly the principle of the thing, that it was her responsibility to take care of her equipment, but... A frustrated, frazzled Slayer didn't really think first before destroying things. Wasn't exactly in the new handbook. (The fact that she'd helped _write_ that handbook meant absolutely nothing.)

That wasn't what he'd asked.

"That won't be necessary," he told her. "I didn't really think you were joking about your track record. I've budgeted for you." He glanced over his shoulder at the scattered bits of metal and plastic that had formerly been a perfectly serviceable mobile phone. "But I'm not cleaning that up," he added with a mock-sterness he hoped she would understand was a joke.

"Okay," Buffy murmured from her hiding place, not even remotely registering what he'd said as being a joke. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back to rest against the leg of his desk again. He seemed so much taller from this angle.

"Big red buses," she said suddenly, not looking at Ianto. "Lots of people. Queen of England. Where does that sound like? London?"

Ianto frowned. "That would be London," he confirmed. "We're leaving for there in a little over an hour and a half. Why?"

She sighed heavily, rubbing a hand across her forehead. "Guess he wasn't lying about _that_ then," she mumbled, the finally tilted her head to look up at him.

"Slayers have these... vision-type dreams, very prophetic, very cryptic," she explained tiredly. "Always very impending doomy. I... kinda had one upstairs. While I was awake."

Ianto expression again assumed a small degree of alarm. He checked the CCTV, but there was still no signal from the main Hub. 

"Does Jack know?" he asked. This time it wasn't about who had told what to whom (or who hadn't), but if there was impending doom, Jack had to be told.

She nodded, looking up at the ceiling. "He was there when it happened," she elaborated. "Sent me down here."

"I think his sending you down here had less to do with your vision and more to do with... whatever he's doing up there with Captain Hart." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and turned his attention to his computer screen. He'd rather not think about what was going on upstairs.

"Probably," she acknowledged, thinking to herself that he could have sent her to Gwen, though, but had instead steered her straight to Ianto. That had to mean a little something.

She was silent for a long moment, then finally whispered, "I could see the fire on my skin. From the explosion. Just for a second, burning, and then..." Then it was like everything had ceased to exist.

Ianto's expression softened to concern as he looked back down at her, still sitting on the floor. "That must be... disconcerting," he commented. He didn't know what else to say. She'd suggested this was normal for her, so 'I'm sorry' didn't seem appropriate. "I assume you were seeing what will happen if we don't find the Warp Star," he said. "I can't say it sounds particularly pleasant. I'd suggest we make sure we find it, then."

He picked up a folder containing several sheets of paper and handed it to Buffy. "Here's a list of black market alien artifact dealers in London. I took it from what we were able to salvage of the Canary Wharf databases. If anyone happened upon the Warp Star without knowing what it was, they might take it to one of these people to be appraised. The trade in specialty items requires knowing some pretty specific people. I expect Captain Hart is familiar to some of them by now."

Buffy flipped through the pages in the folder, skimming over the information, digesting it and filing away the gist of what would be important to the mission. She was nearly to the end when one name caught her eye. "This one," she said, handing the page to Ianto. "We should start there. That dealer has a history with jewelry, and this thing... it's _gorgeous_. It'd be worth a lot as a regular gem, but add in that it's _alien_... If the buyer knows of them, they'll go there first."

Ianto took the page from her. "If the buyer has a habit of buying alien artifacts, then the buyer will know him." He glanced at his monitor. Still nothing from upstairs. He took the rest of the folder back and put the page with the dealer Buffy had pointed out on top. They needed a way to track the Warp Star down if Hart couldn't provide them with any useful information.

"How do you know so much about that dealer?" he asked. It was weird the kinds of things Buffy knew and didn't know. Blackmarket jewelry dealers in London (a city he wasn't sure she'd even been to, judging by her need to confirm whether her vision had, in fact, been London)? Check. How to turn off your mobile phone's alarm settings without smashing it into a billion little pieces? Not so much.

Buffy reached up to pull her hair out of its ponytail, running her fingers through the golden strands until it lay freely across her shoulders. "We've got a branch of the New Council in London," she explained. "Pretty big set-up, actually, with about a hundred active-duty girls operating at any time, plus our Watchers, witches, and support teams. We keep tabs on anything demon or magic-related, and our guy," she gestured at the folder, "has just as much of a yen for mystical jewelry as he does for alien."

"Ah," Ianto said simply, with a nod of comprehension.

He looked through some other documents he had on his desk and glanced at his watch. He looked at the screen. Still nothing from upstairs. He considered going up, but Jack had sent Buffy down, which meant he didn't want them there for this. Still smarting slightly from the earlier perceived snub of Jack telling Buffy things he never told them, he was half tempted to go up there for just that reason, but, frankly, his loyalty to Jack outweighed the transgression and he couldn't fool himself otherwise.

"I hope he winds things up soon," he commented outloud. "If he wants to get things underway on time, I need to get some things together upstairs."

"I don't think he'll take any longer than he absolutely has to," Buffy told him in a reassuring tone, at too awkward of an angle to reach up and touch his shoulder like she might usually have done. "He honestly doesn't seem to have been enjoying any of this. I think you're more than safe on that front."

Ianto looked at her sharply, taken aback by the bluntness of her observation. "What do you mean?" he asked, feeling a _slight_ embarrassed flush starting just under his collar.

Buffy looked away to give him back just a tiny bit of that feeling of power that she seemed to have stripped from him with her observation. Yeah, she had a tendency to do that. "The majorly gorgeous ex shows up, all strut and ego, like he owns the place? It's enough to make anyone a little uneasy." She winced a little before adding, "Course, I was usually in _Jack's_ position, but still. Fact still stands that he's not gonna pick this guy over you."

Ianto just stared at her for a moment. Of course, he was looking at the side of her head, because she'd looked away from him. 

"Um..." he started uncomfortably, but didn't know how to continue the thought and shuffled some papers on his desk instead. Of _course_ she'd been in Jack's position in this scenario. That just stood to reason, didn't it? And _majorly gorgeous_? He certainly wouldn't go that far, but he didn't voice that opinion, because he remembered that Hart allegedly looked just like Buffy's boyfriend. And even if he _shared_ that opinion? He'd never admit to it. 

"I'm not..." His voice trailed off again and he gave up on trying to answer her. It wasn't bad enough that he _looked_ like an idiot. He didn't need to _sound_ like one too.

Buffy let the silence stretch between them for a few moments before looking up at him again. "Wise move," she said sagely. "Too much talking when uncomfortably flustered generally leads to digging yourself into a hole." She stood quickly, brushing off her pants before shooting him a grin. "I've been there too."

She stretched her arms over her head, arching her back like a cat after a nap, then dropped her arms to her sides again. "C'mon," she said with a nod of her head to the door. "Let's go make a lot of noise on the stairs." Yes, it was a very high school thing to do, but some habits never die.

"No," Ianto said quickly, going so far as to get up and grab her arm to pull her back. "Jack will let us know when we can come up." He realized he was holding on to her arm and let go. 

"I don't know how much Jack's told you about his past," he said. Probably more than he'd told Ianto, but Ianto didn't say that part. "He doesn't talk about it much or in any detail. From what he has told me, he's done a lot of things he isn't proud of. You said Captain Hart looked scared? Maybe he has reason to be. He knew Jack back then." Ianto stepped backwards to perch on the edge of the desk, where Jack had been sitting earlier. "He doesn't... he doesn't like to be associated with who he was then. He doesn't want us to know about it." He gave Buffy a stern look. "We go up when he says," he told her firmly.

Well, Ianto definitely passed _that_ test.

Buffy just smiled and nodded easily. It had taken a while to get used to this whole not being in charge thing, but a month into the game, she liked to think she'd mostly gotten the hang of it. "Okay, chill, Ianto. We'll wait." 

Hooking her thumbs through the belt loops of her jeans, she tilted her head at the younger man and slowly smiled. In a soft voice, she said, "You really do care about him, don't you?" It had been rare to see this side of Ianto during the month they'd worked together, but she was thankful for the experience. "I'm glad. He deserves to have someone like you in his life."

He blinked, looking away self-consciously for a moment, before sliding off the edge of the desk to sit back down in his chair again. "Thanks," he mumbled, reorganizing some already well-organized files.

It wasn't that he was ashamed or thought he had anything to hide, it was just that, unless they were making wisecracks about it (which he didn't have to dignify with a response most of the time), nobody had ever talked about it so nonchalantly at _work_. They just _didn't_. Buffy, for her part, clearly didn't have a problem with it, but they couldn't say that every potential future Torchwood employee would be okay with the fact that one of their coworkers was dating the boss, regardless of the fact that Ianto still did all of the organization's dirty work.

He was relieved when Jack's voice came over the comms and the CCTV feed from the main Hub flickered back to life on his monitor. Hart was still sitting in the same chair, looking a little perturbed... but unharmed.

"Ianto, would you and Buffy come up here, please?"

Glancing at the Welshman, Buffy gave him another grin before hurrying from the room, eager to finally be getting down to the apocalypse-diverting. Waiting just wasn't her style, especially when it involved sitting around. Getting to see that particular brand of surprise on Ianto's face had pretty much made it worth it, though.

The cog door was just rolling aside for Gwen to step into the lobby when Buffy got there herself, and she saw the dark-haired woman adjusting something on her earpiece. That explained the sudden appearance, then.

She had to admit she was a little disappointed that Hart didn't appear to have a scratch on him. She really needed to talk to Jack about his interrogation methods regarding annoying house guests. They could do with some fine-tuning.

Jack looked at Ianto. "I've sent the information to your PDA," he told him. Ianto went to his desk to pick up the aforementioned device. He looked at Jack and nodded, indicating that he'd received it. He skimmed through it. First and last name (the real one, presumably, and not the one Hart had given Gwen and Buffy that didn't show up in any database), home address, workplace... it was all there.

Jack looked at Gwen. "Come with me, we need to get the SUV ready."

Ianto looked up. "I can do that when I'm done here," he pointed out. It was _usually_ his job.

Jack shook his head. "No. I want all the information organized so anything we need to know is at our fingertips the moment we need it. That's what I want you doing."

Ianto nodded and logged into his computer terminal. He had it linked to his computer in the archives, so he could work at either one. He pulled up the files he'd been working on downstairs, including the list of buyers, and began loading them into the PDA.

Jack looked at Buffy next. "Keep an eye on _him_ ," he said, pointing at Hart, before turning to leave with Gwen.

Somehow, it seemed to Buffy that ever since Giles had waltzed into her living all those years ago with a group of Potentials in tow, she'd been stuck with a glorified babysitting job. Who was she to think that might change when she joined Torchwood? Now she just got to babysit things that _weren't_ hormonal, super-strength teenage girls. Though, at that very moment, she was having trouble deciding which job she'd rather have.

"Hey, _buddy_ ," she said with dripping sarcastic hostility, glancing across the room to make sure Hart's tray of weapons was still safely not within his reach. So far so good. Now if she could just make it to naptime...

Hart glanced at her disinterestedly, then gazed around the Hub in silence for a bit, letting his eyes find Ianto, working quietly at his computer, slowly. Still silent, he watched the administrator work for a little while, pointedly ignoring Buffy's presence.

Ianto could see Hart's reflection in his monitor and could feel the older man's eyes on him, but intentionally refrained from reacting. Hart _wanted_ to make him uncomfortable.

Hart must have gotten bored after a bit, because he didn't maintain his silence much longer.

"You know, Eye Candy, I can tell you what your first mistake was," he said casually. Ianto ignored him, so he kept talking. "See, I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong, and your _first_ mistake was thinking that you have something with him that actually _means_ anything. You don't want to know how many of you I've seen come and go," he elaborated. "And that was back when he was _mortal_." Ianto continued to pointedly ignore Hart, but his posture had become more tense. "Now that he has all the time in the universe, how long do you think he's going to stay here with _you_? Not that he has to leave. He has options aplenty right here," he added, now taking the time to look Buffy over wolfishly. "You're young and pretty," he continued, turning his gaze back to Ianto's back, "but either way, he'll get tired of you and what can only be your relatively limited experience in satisfying a man... probably sooner rather than later," he finished mildly, as though he'd been talking about the weather or a football match. 

Ianto turned around slowly and looked at the former Time Agent. He wanted to challenge him, but he didn't know what to say to all that. He knew Hart was winding him up, but, all the same, Hart had touched on things Ianto had genuine concerns about, not that he'd admit it to anyone else.

Hart smiled indulgently. "Don't worry, Eye Candy. If nothing else, he's highly _skilled_. Just relax and try to enjoy the _ride_ while it lasts. Anyway, I'm sure when he's done with you, he'll keep you around to fetch him his coffee and take out his trash."

Buffy had had more than enough of this crap. She'd been wanting to get her hands on the arrogant bastard in a very violent way, and now he'd just presented her with the perfect opportunity. An opportunity she wouldn't pass up for a lifetime of expensive shoes, not after what he'd just put Ianto through.

Hopping off the desk she'd been sitting on, Buffy was beside Hart in seconds, leaning down so her lips very nearly brushed his ear as she whispered, "Actually, I think _I'm_ the one who's going to be taking out the trash." Pulling back, she grabbed a handful of the man's shirt to haul him to his feet. "Let's start with you, 'kay?"

The punch to his jaw wasn't nearly as powerful as she would have liked, but he did need to be able to talk, sadly, just in case they needed answers from him later. Though that theory was always up for negotiation in her book.

Ianto flinched when Buffy attacked Hart, more from being shaken out of Hart's little spell than the actual violence of it.

Hart fell onto the floor, flat on his back, and didn't make any move to get up. He laughed and looked up at Buffy. "So quick to jump to the defense of your dear Captain's honour. Are you sure he deserves it? You don't know him like I do." He looked over at Ianto. "Has he actually _promised_ you anything?"

"None of your business," he retorted quietly, but without hesitation.

"He hasn't, has he?" Hart shot back, and it was a statement, not a question. There was just the smallest amount of triumph on his face when he looked at Buffy again, like saying 'I told you so'.

Buffy walked toward him, stepping over him so one foot was on either side of his waist as she glared down at him. The angle would make her seem taller, not that she really needed help with intimidation once she really got going. She and Jack had that in common.

"You really think you know Jack?" she questioned him quietly, her tone harsh. If he wanted to play dirty, they'd play dirty. "Seriously? Seems to me that if you two had such a deep, heart-wrenching soulmate thing going on, he might not be so quick to _kick your ass out_ every time you darken his doorstep. And if he wants his distractions to be young and pretty, I guess there's a reason you don't make the cut."

Hart's expression became darker as he looked up at her. "Maybe not," he spat, "but _you_ would." He made show of looking her over from his particular vantage point. "You're just his type, as well." He looked past her to where Ianto still stood. Ianto hadn't moved since he'd turned around. "It's _so_ like him to line up your replacement before he's even told you that you're being replaced! Not that I blame him. You're easy on the eyes, but she's got _fire_."

" _Fire_?" Buffy repeated incredulously, almost amused at the situation. "What are you, a bad TV movie? No, you're not even that high in the ranks. You're right there with the soap operas middle-aged housewives watch in between laundry and making dinner."

She shifted her weight so she could set her right foot on his chest, giving her just enough leverage to be able to lean forward, hands folded on her knee. "And, y'know, if I was at all interested, I might be offended. Little, tiny bit. But... nope. Not. Even after spending two weeks with him in a luxurious hotel. So you're gonna have to work a little harder to push my buttons."

Hart smirked. "I'm not interested in _your_ buttons," he said. He glanced down her body slightly and his smirk widened. "Well, maybe a _little_." He glanced past her at Ianto again and was about to say something when Jack rejoined them.

"What in the _hell_ is going on?" he asked the room in general. He looked at Ianto, who was still standing a short distance from Buffy and Hart. "Are you done there?" he asked, nodding towards the computer.

Ianto shook himself out of his thoughts on Hart's words and his observation of Buffy's altercation with him and turned quickly back towards the computer. "Almost," he mumbled.

Jack raised a suspcious eyebrow at that, because slacking off wasn't part of Ianto's character and the younger man was well aware that they had a ticking clock hanging over them. 

He turned his attention to Buffy, standing on Hart. "What'd he do now?"

Buffy sent one last glare down to Hart before moving away from him. She hadn't gotten in nearly enough violence as she would have liked, but she was thoroughly satisfied to see a slightly dusty bootprint right on the front of his pretty coat. She hoped Ianto got to see it, might cheer him up a little.

"Oh, nothing big," she told Jack with a closed off grin as she turned away from the latest pain in her rear end. "We were just having a nice little chat."

Hart scoffed. "I don't know what kind of operation you're running these days," he said, "but she assaulted me for absolutely no reason."

Jack folded his arms with a 'this ought to be good' expression on his face.

"I was sitting in my chair making idle conversation with Eye Candy over there," he said, nodding towards Ianto. Jack raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the use of that particular nickname, but Hart ignored it.

"She wasn't even involved in the conversation and she attacked me." He glanced over at Buffy before leaning in towards Jack conspiratorially. "Are you sure she's entirely stable?"

Jack didn't dignify that with a response. He looked at Buffy. "Take him down to the cells. We're leaving soon." He didn't wait for them to go before turning his back on the little scene and going over to stand next to Ianto, glancing at his computer screen before looking at him instead. "Do you want to drive there and I'll drive back?" he asked in a much gentler, warmer tone than he'd used since he came back from helping Gwen load up the SUV.

Since Hart had yet to get up, Buffy allowed herself the pleasure of once again hauling him to his feet, the movement quick and fluid so he barely had time to catch his balance before she was forcibly shoving him toward the stairs to the cells. Her Slayer hearing picked up Jack's words from across the room as they were descending, and she smiled inwardly.

Yeah, they'd make it.

Hart regained some of his smugness and swagger as they walked down the stairs. "You know, it's easy for you to _say_ you're not interested in front of Eye Candy back there, and it's nice of you to spare his feelings and all, but, _really_?" he said halting their little stroll for a moment and turning to look at her. " _Everyone_ falls for him eventually." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Can you honestly stand there and, regardless of whatever else you're involved with, say that you don't find him attractive at _all_?"

Buffy wondered how much trouble she'd be in if she just shoved the ass down some stairs, let gravity take its course and all. She was pretty certain Gwen and Ianto would cheer, probably throw confetti, and then buy a round of drinks at the bar down the street.

"Contrary to what I assume is your popular belief," she told him with disdain, "finding someone attractive doesn't require a burning desire to jump his bones." Giving her head a little shake so her hair wasn't falling in her face, she continued, " _You_ look like a carbon copy of my boyfriend, and all I wanna do is shove you down some stairs."

Well, it wouldn't hurt for him to know it.

A very amused smile settled on Hart's face. "I wouldn't be surprised if that was your usual foreplay," he said slyly. He looked her over again. "I'm pretty sure it'd get _me_ off. Imagine how it would go over with Immortal Boy? _He_ can't even get _hurt_. I should know, too, I pushed him off of a skyscraper once. It didn't take an hour for him to come 'round and tell me off." 

He turned and started strolling leisurely down the stairs again, thinking it might be better to get to the bottom on his own power, regardless of what he was saying to wind up Jack's new guard dog.

"Then again, maybe it's Eye Candy you fancy. You were quick to jump to his defense." He looked back at Buffy and smirked as he got to the bottom. "He's a bit of alright. Kind of dull, but I wouldn't kick him out of bed."

Buffy smirked when he resumed heading down the stairs, glad to see her words had at least struck a tiny thread of a cord. Probably that self-preservation instinct he apparently had in spades. 

"Me either," she admitted easily, still wanting to smack him upside the head. "But, considering I've got a vampire boyfriend with an ego the size of Jack's and very specific drapery needs, I've kinda got my hands full."

She pushed open the squeaky metal door to the row of cells and gave Hart a good shove inside for the fun of it. "And, yeah, I like my foreplay a little rough," she continued just as easily, without an ounce of shame or hesitation. "Not that _you'll_ ever find out." 

It had been a long time since that infamous year when everything had fallen apart. She was a different woman now, unafraid of being honest about her life, her wants and needs and her 'true nature', as Spike had phrased it back then. There were parts of Buffy that were innately dark and violent, thanks to the actions of the Shadow Men so many thousands of years ago, but that didn't make her a monster. 

He chuckled when she shoved him. "Maybe not," he admitted. Suddenly, he turned and shoved her hard into the door of the cells, running past her and up the stairs without looking back. If Jack wasn't going to bring him to London, he was _out_ of there. No way he was sitting in the cells for a few days while they were all gone.

Buffy was dazed for all of .2 seconds before dashing after him. She caught up to him halfway up the stairs, tackling him so they both hit the ground hard, even sliding down a few steps. "Where do you think _you're_ going?" she questioned, a rush of energy coursing through her as the Slayer inside readied for a fight. This was hands down the best part of her job -- she hadn't gotten nearly enough time in the field at the NC the past few years. It was just what a girl needed in her retirement.

"Get _off_ of me!" he shouted, trying to push her away from him so he could get up again. Apparently, though, she was immovable as a _wall_ when she was _ready_ for it. He cursed and tried to wriggle out of her grasp. "I'm not sitting in the some dank cell for a week while you lot mess around in London!" he declared through clenched teeth, trying to pull himself up using the railing.

"Like we're really gonna let you go cause _more_ trouble while we clean up your mess," she said with sarcasm as she adjusted her grip and started righting herself with a downward pull so she could drag him back down the stairs. His hold on the railing was a bit of a problem though, and she gave him an extra hard tug to separate him from it... but didn't count on the inertia sending them both tumbling down the stairs instead.

He landed hard on the concrete floor, stars dancing briefly in front of his vision. He realized, as it cleared, that her face was just inches from his, as she'd landed on top of him.

 _Paralyzing lip gloss,_ he thought. _Don't leave home without it._

He grabbed her collar and pulled her lips to his, giving her as lingering a kiss as he could. He wanted to make sure the toxin kicked in as quickly as possible.

Oh, Buffy knew all about Captain John Hart and his past escapades with Torchwood. Which meant she knew about his little trick that he'd pulled on Gwen -- she'd just been waiting for him to try it on her, too. And it was funny: the lips were the same, but his kiss... Completely different from Spike's. 

She pulled back out of his grip and couldn't resist giving him another good punch, this one landing on his cheek bone. Again, it wasn't hard enough to break bones, but he'd certainly remember her for a few days.

Leaning in when his head was turned from the punch, she murmured into his ear, "Paralyzing lip gloss, right? Neat trick." She could actually _feel_ the toxin working its way through her system, making her movements just a tiny bit sluggish, but still leaving her above 'normal human' status. She had him on his feet moments later, shoving him back against one of the empty cell doors before pressing her body against his and smashing their lips together again. Just enough distraction, hopefully, to let her get the door open.

The cell door swung open before Buffy could even get to the button.

Jack leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, his arms crossed, looking generally unimpressed. Ianto stood beside him holding a gun, but it was pointed at the floor.

Hart looked over at them as soon as Buffy's lips left his. "She's a _maniac_ ," he protested, but Jack didn't move from where he was standing and his expression didn't change. Hart slid out from between Buffy and the wall and walked grudgingly into the cell.

As soon as the door was securely closed, Buffy turned to her 'rescuers' snapped her fingers in that disappointed manner and said, "Damn, I wanted to see the look on his face when I shoved him in. You guys couldn't have waited five more seconds?"

Glancing back at Hart, she reached out to tap her nails on the transparent partition now separating them and told him with a smirk, "By the way, your technique needs work."

Hart just looked at them ruefully and didn't answer her this time.

Ianto had already turned to go upstairs, tucking his gun into his jacket as he walked. Jack touched his back briefly as he passed in an almost unconscious gesture of intimacy.

"We have to go," Jack told Buffy simply, and stood aside to let her go ahead of him. He shot Hart one more dark look before following them up.

Buffy grumbled as she headed up the stairs, "Please tell me I get to _really_ kick his ass when we get back? He's not even a good kisser and now his lip trick's making me feel all funky..." She was clearly not a happy camper. Only a good dose of violence and caffeine could fix her mood now.

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and called up the stairs, "Ianto, will you get her a dose of the antitoxin, please?"

Ianto looked back and nodded, heading into the medical bay.

"Sit down," Jack told Buffy. The instruction wasn't particularly sharp, but it wasn't particularly warm either. "Between the vision earlier and the poison now, we don't need you falling over and cracking your head."

Myffanwy squawked and swooped across the ceiling as if she were agreeing with him and he almost cracked a smile. He nodded towards the flying reptile. "See? You don't have to take _my_ word for it," he joked wearily.

Buffy smirked slightly as she dropped into a chair, putting a hand to her head. It felt like she'd had too much to drink -- she couldn't even begin to imagine what a Slayer-sized dose would feel like. Poor Gwen, for having actually experienced it. No wonder the other woman seemed to have a special look of disgust reserved just for their guest.

"Yeah, right," she said in an equally weary, yet playful tone. "I saw you slip her dark chocolate earlier, don't even try it."

Gwen came back into the room, in the midst of checking her pockets to make sure she had everything she needed, and asked distractedly, "Why did I just see Ianto heading to the-" One look at Buffy made her stop and frown. "What'd he do _now_?" she asked, her voice dark and clearly unamused.

"Just your favourite trick," Jack told her distastefully. 

Ianto returned with the antitoxin and injected it carefully into Buffy's arm. It would still take a few minutes for it to course through her system and bring her back to normal. Well, her body could process the antitoxin in the back seat of the car. He helped her up from her chair, holding on to her arm to steady her as Ianto grabbed a couple of things from his desk and they all headed out to the SUV.

Buffy didn't bother to mention that her body would have been able to get rid of the drug on its own because, well, yeah, it could have, but it would have taken a while and she really didn't feel like having the hangover from hell for the next few hours, especially when there was work to do.

She slumped onto the back seat of the SUV and waved away Gwen's look of concern as the woman climbed in on the other side. "I'll be fine," she informed her. "Doesn't pack too much of a punch on me, but wait 'til you see the bruises on _him_ when we get back." She couldn't help but smirk lazily before turning to lean into the door. "Wake me when we get there," she mumbled as her eyes closed.

Gwen just shook her head in amazement.


	13. Good Old London Town - Part 1

The three hour trip to London passed mostly in silence, though it was weary more than awkward. Ianto drove and Jack looked introspectively out his window. Hart had made him resort to being someone he liked to tell himself he wasn't anymore. He hadn't had to actually _hurt_ Hart. Hart had known that he _would_ , at that point, and that had been enough to loosen his tongue. The reason he had been reluctant to give that information to Gwen and Buffy, even though he'd gone there to have them save London from the potential explosion? If he was the only one that knew, they'd have had to bring him along. Jack had made it plain how much that was never going to happen. Hart's presence was hard enough on the team without, basically, locking them up with him. Not to mention the fact that this mission would be a big enough pain in their asses without having to babysit a rogue Time Agent who more than likely had ulterior motives.  

Ianto pulled up in front of a small hotel. It was discreet and tucked away on a small London street. They weren't there to be noticed. Jack could see the closest Tube Station from his seat in the car and they weren't far from the city's famous tourist areas, but they weren't right in the middle of any of them either. He approved, but he'd never doubted Ianto's abilities when it came to logistics. The man simply had a rare gift for organizing things.  

Gwen and Buffy were in one room, Jack and Ianto in another across the hall from them. Jack told Gwen and Buffy to come across the hall in about half an hour, once they'd all had a chance to settle in. They had to discuss the plan for the next morning. When he entered his own room, Ianto had already quietly started putting their things away and setting up his laptop on the table. Jack slipped his coat off and dropped it on the bed.  

He watched Ianto for a moment while he crouched on the other side of the table, unplugging the small hotel coffee maker so he could plug in the laptop. He stood up and stopped short when he realized Jack was just sort of... staring at him.  

"Are you alright?" he asked a little warily.  

"Yep," Jack answered, still just watching him.  

He glanced down a little self-consciously, straightening his waistcoat slightly, rumpled as it was from him crawling around under the table.

  Jack didn't even try to stop his first genuine smile of the afternoon at that. It was so _him_. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he offered.

  "Oh," Ianto said, looking, truthfully, a little relieved. He glanced around at the bags and cases littering the area and finally had Jack unpack some of the equipment.

 

Buffy's nap in the car had left her feeling groggy and in desperate need of caffeine. At least the hotel had provided a small complimentary bag of coffee to go with the coffee maker, which Buffy immediately attacked while Gwen made a quick call to the Rhys. It was cute, really, how the two of them interacted, and she could see the leaps and bounds that had been made in their relationship when she compared the now to Jack's stories. (It had also been made clear to her through those stories just how deeply Jack felt for Gwen, and she could see why.)

"How's the hubby?" Buffy asked casually as she perched on one of the beds while listening to the little sputters coming from the coffee pot. If only it would work faster...

Gwen smiled happily, still in her newlywed phase for the most part, and replied, "Worried, but better now than I've rung. Told him I'd call again when we when were heading back."

"Bet he wasn't too happy about that," Buffy teased knowingly, remembering the early months of her relationship with Spike, when they'd both been off on separate escapades and been overly worried about the other. It had taken some leaps of trust on both their parts, but now they were at a point in their life together when they could go days without speaking to each other, even weeks, and not completely freak out over it. Besides, when they finally _did_ get to talk to or even see each other... Well, absence didn't exactly make the heart grow fonder, but it did make the sex better.

Lowering herself into a chair by the window, Gwen shook her head, still smiling, and laughed quietly. "He's getting better though, I have to say. Few months ago, he'd have complained himself senseless. He nearly turned blue once."

Buffy laughed with amusement as she reached for two coffee cups that were, thankfully, perfectly clean. "I'd have _paid_ to see that!"

 

Ianto loosened his tie absently, opening the top button of his shirt with a flick of his thumb, as he connected one of Tosh's souped up scanners to the computer. Jack was mildly disappointed. _He_ liked being the one who made Ianto look all rumpled and undone. Still, it was a little warm and stuffy in the room and the computer equipment was only going to exacerbate that. He walked over to the window and slid it open. Their rooms were on the fifth floor and the open window afforded them the sound of cars and people on the street below, but not _too_ loudly.

"I don't know if that'll pick up anything while the Warp Star is dormant," Jack said with a nod towards the scanner, but it's worth a try."

"The buyer is a collector. It might pick up other items he's got, if nothing else," Ianto pointed out. "Other things he perhaps shouldn't have..."

"Good thinking," Jack told him approvingly.

 

After a few more minutes of girl talk and a round of coffee that wasn't anything like Ianto's coffee, Buffy told Gwen she was going to pop downstairs to get some air and finish waking up. Grabbing her light coat, she headed out, riding down in the elevator with an elderly woman and her husband who commented on Buffy's 'charming' accent. The charming was dripping with sarcasm and she wanted to whack the woman in the head with something sharp, like she'd done to that demon at the Double Meat Palace.

She was so glad she'd moved up in the job world.

A slow stroll down the street allowed her to take in the sounds of the traffic on the street, the myriad of accents from the people she was passing, and a smell that just reminded her of London. She'd only been to the city twice before, both times involving helping to set up and then subsequently work out the kinks of the New Council's branch there, but she did remember the smell of the place. She blamed Spike for pointing it out to her in the first place.

 

Jack stood looking out the window and, even from that height, recognized Buffy down on the street. He frowned, briefly wondering where she was going, then glanced at his watch and decided he wouldn't say anything unless she was late for their meeting in ten minutes' time.

He turned away from the window. Ianto was still setting up all of Torchwood's delicate and complicated equipment. Again, Jack felt a small pang of disappointment, because all their Do Not Disturb sign was probably going to be keeping the Housekeeping staff from walking in on was their top secret junk. They were going to be in London long enough to track down their wayward Warp Star, then it was back to Cardiff with them. No rest for the weary.

Jack shook himself out of that train of thought. London always made him nostalgic for those relatively carefree days he spent there during the war, back when he was a 'free agent', after he left the Time Agency. Sure there were air raids and his cover as an airman required a certain amount of soldiering, but he still had a lot of free time. London was _fun_. 

Jack watched Ianto work, his attention focused entirely on the task at hand, and wondered if his lover even remembered what that kind of fun _felt_ like. Jack hadn't known him before Lisa. He'd often wondered what the younger man was _like_ before he'd taken on that terrible secret.

Ianto finished his immediate task and looked up to find Jack watching him again. "What?" he asked suspiciously.

"I want to go out with you," he said plainly. "In London. But we don't have time."

A myriad of expressions passed across Ianto's face in quick succession before he finally settled on fiddling with the device he'd just connected with a pleased smile that he kept mostly to himself while he simply said "Oh."

 

Buffy wandered a bit further, then began to turn back -- she _really_ didn't want to be late, had just needed a few minutes to herself -- when she noticed a little shop selling pastries at the corner. She didn't even know what time it was, but she figured a little snack wouldn't bother anyone, especially when who knew when they might have time to eat an actual meal in between saving London and whatever other disaster was overly likely to crop up.

Reaching into her pocket to pull out the money she'd stuffed in there when she'd left her apartment that morning, she pulled out the wadded bundle and was struggling to sort it out when a few coins dropped to the pavement with metallic clings. Two rolled away from her, disappearing under the shoes of passersby... but one circled back, rolling in front of her and finally coming to a stop. She frowned at it, crouching down and reaching out to pick it up...

Buffy froze, her hand held out above the coin. Just like in her vision, only... That wasn't good. She grabbed the coin and raced back to the hotel, not bothering with the elevator and instead flying up the stairs.

Jack caught that little secret smile and stepped closer, leaning across the corner of the table to set a tender kiss on Ianto's lips, which was returned immediately. He rested his fingertips along Ianto's jaw and was about to move around the corner of the table when the door flew open with a bang. Jack had left it propped open a crack with the deadbolt because they were expecting Gwen and Buffy for the meeting. 

He didn't withdraw entirely at first, only turned his head to see who had felt the need to make such an abrupt and dramatic entrance.

Buffy was only very slightly out of breath, but there was a hint of panic in her expression. Her dreams had never been this easily understood before, or this quick to actually come to fruition. Hell, they weren't even _dreams_ anymore. What had happened to change things so drastically? Was it because of her exposure to the Rift? It was the only possibility Willow had come up with that had made any real sense.

"We need to hurry," she told the two men who had obviously been in the middle of something, or maybe just the beginnings of the middle, she couldn't be sure. Either way, she was sorry to have interrupted, but there really hadn't been much of a choice. "Part of my vision just happened."

Jack stood up straight, turning to face Buffy entirely. "What do you mean?" he asked. "We don't even know where to _look_ for the thing yet." He glanced past Buffy to the door, then looked at Buffy again. "Go get Gwen," he told her.

She nodded and turned without arguing, pulling out her key to quickly open the door across from theirs and call out, "Gwen!" to get the other woman's attention. Gwen looked up from the file she'd been reading and immediately stood, tossing the papers to the side and striding quickly across the room and out into the hall so both women could file into the other room.

Jack stood in the centre of the room with his arms crossed. Ianto was still on the far side of the table, hands on his hips. When Gwen and Buffy came in, Jack looked straight at Buffy.

"What _exactly_ happened in your vision, and what part came true?" he asked without preamble.

Gwen shut the door behind them and Buffy fisted her hands in her long hair, dislodging her earpiece enough that she just unhooked it and tossed it angrily at the bed. Not the wall, the bed, so Ianto wouldn't kill her later. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I was... in the middle of a street, a big, busy street, with lots of people and traffic. I don't... know which one, but I knew it was London because of those stupid giant buses that kinda freak me out." She was on the verge of rambling, which was very unlike her, but this New Vision Girl thing was really giving her the wiggins. "I saw that gorgeous little gemstone rolling on the pavement toward me. I reached out to pick it up, but someone beat me to it. That someone being the Queen."

She looked at the three of them and made a frustrated noise at the back of her throat. "I know, it doesn't make much sense, but _believe_ me, they're usually a lot more cryptic than that," she grumbled. "When I was downstairs, I dropped some change, and one of the coins... It did the _exact same_ thing the Warp Star in my vision did. And, I know, it's not a direct translation, but it... It _felt_ the same."

Buffy was left feeling stupid and wondering how much of it they would believe. These were people who dealt with science, not magic, and they had absolutely no reason to believe her. She felt like she was back in high school, back when the prophetic dreams had been at their high point and yet they'd still mostly been brushed aside. They were going to think she was an absolute idiot.

Whether they believed her or not, at this point, wasn't evident on any of their faces.

"Where did this happen?" he asked. "The thing with the coin. Just down the street?" He nodded towards the window for emphasis.

"Yeah," she said quietly, her shoulders hunching slightly under the weight of her own insecurities. Despite the years since, she still felt the pain of when the Scoobies had abandoned her during the last days of the War with the First. She was a twenty-eight year old woman who was terrified of being rejected again by her friends and teammates because they thought her incompetent and not worthy of their trust. "But I don't know if it's a location thing or just a sequence of events. It's different every time. And they're not usually so... straight-forward. I think the Rift might have... changed them. It would explain why I had this one while I was awake. As far as I know, that's never happened to a Slayer before." It only added to her uncertainty about the entire situation.

Jack nodded and turned to Ianto. "Do a scan for alien tech and start with the immediate area, working outwards from this location."

Ianto nodded and was doing it before Jack finished talking.

Jack looked at Buffy. "This is _London_. We're going to get some false hits just scanning for alien tech. There's all kinds of alien crap floating around this city. Ianto and I will look into that end of things. I want you to go with Gwen to the buyer's home address. See if he's there and, if he is, find out what he did with the item he bought. Don't mention the Warp Star until you find out whether he already found it or not. If it's still concealed, maybe you can slip it out of there with him being none the wiser. I was going to wait until tomorrow, because he'd be more likely to be home on a Saturday morning, but if your vision is trying to tell us something, maybe the message is that we don't have that kind of time."

Relief didn't even begin to describe what Buffy felt at Jack's words and Gwen's and Ianto's nods of acceptance. They weren't questioning her, calling her out on all the holes and possibilities that it could mean absolutely nothing. They were trusting their teammate and it... It meant the world to her.

"Thank you," she said to Jack after Gwen had turned to go back across the hall to grab their things. She started to leave as well, then suddenly turned back, a very serious expression on her face. "Jack, if we need backup... Torchwood isn't alone anymore." She was offering him something that only _she_ would be able to offer, and only he had the power to take her up on it.

"I hope it won't come to that," Jack told her. "But I'll keep it in mind," he added with a reassuring smile.

Buffy echoed Jack's smile with one of her own before leaving the room to follow Gwen down the hall. She'd grabbed the buyer's address in the room; it wasn't far from the hotel, they'd be able to take public transport. They hurried down the stairs and along the street until they reached a main road and hopped the first bus that happened by.

Ianto worked at the computer in silence until he found a couple of possible leads. They'd have to check them out in person. He got up and rebuttoned his top button and straightened his tie before grabbing his jacket.

It hadn't escaped Jack's notice that, while he didn't seem outright _troubled_ , Ianto had been more quiet than normal since they'd left the Hub that afternoon. He didn't know if he should ask Ianto or Buffy what had happened, or if he should just tap into the Hub's security systems and watch it himself. Or if he should maybe leave it alone, which was what he'd been _trying_ to do. Maybe Ianto was just tired; it had been a busy day. There'd been nothing aloof in the brief kiss he'd managed to initiate before Buffy had burst in. Maybe Hart's presence was making Jack paranoid. He grabbed his own coat off the bed and they headed downstairs.

 

Riding one of the giant red buses that freaked her out was not helping Buffy much in the staying calm in the face of an impending apocalypse. Once they'd gotten off at a very ritzy looking street, though, and she was back on her own two feet, she was much better. Much being a figurative estimation, of course.

"It's that one over there," Gwen said, pointing at a building down the street. They hurried forward, not wanting to waste any time in case it turned out to be a dead end. Gwen knocked on the door, a loud, solid sound that Buffy could hear reverberating in the wood.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Gwen was about to knock again when the door opened and a man who looked to be in his early thirties (very handsome, very fit, Buffy could see why Hart had dealt with him) appeared behind it. "Excuse me," Gwen began in her proper voice left over from her Police Constable days, "we don't mean to bother you, but are you-"

She hadn't even managed to finish the sentence before the man was running from the door and into the house. Buffy reacted after only a second of processing what was happening, taking off after him, dodging furniture and halls until she came to a back door that was still swinging from being flung open. She could hear Gwen clamoring behind her but couldn't stop to wait for her to catch up.

 

Jack and Ianto walked through the narrow streets, Ianto keeping an eye on the signals they'd picked up using his PDA. The first one took them to a small shop in an even smaller dingy side street, if it _could_ be called a 'street'. It was more like an alley. Jack opened the door and stepped through first, immediately finding himself amongst shelves and carelessly stacked piles of bric-a-brac. The shop was dimly lit and dust danced in the beams of sunlight that _did_ manage to infiltrate the inside of the shop. It smelled musty. He turned to look at Ianto.

"It's coming from the back," Ianto said, nodding towards the counter where a cash register sat, a beaded curtain not unlike the one in the tourist office covering the doorway behind it. Nobody was at the counter. Nobody had come from behind the curtain to greet what must have been the rare sight of customers walking through the door. Ianto tucked the PDA into his jacket and they both stepped towards the counter.

"Hello?" Jack called out. Nobody answered. Someone had to be here somewhere: the front door had been open. " _Hello_?" Jack called again, a little more forcefully. He looked at Ianto, who only shrugged in response. Jack lead him around the counter and cautiously pushed aside the beaded curtain. "Hello?" he called again, as they stepped into a narrow corridor that smelled just as musty as the shop, if not more so. A door was slightly ajar to the left. Jack pushed it open. It was a small toilet. They continued down the hallway. It ended at a small, dingy living space. There was a couch and an armchair and an old television on a rickety stand. A kettle sat on a folding table in one corner. A middle-aged man sat on the couch. He looked at them wide-eyed. Jack just raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can't be back here!" he man said, but he didn't get up and he looked a little frightened more than angry.

"Oh, I think we _can_ ," Jack told him.

The man's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Who _are_ you?" he asked, a little more timidly.

"Torchwood," Jack replied simply.

The man's eyes widened and he didn't respond.

"Where is it?" Jack asked him firmly, but not forcefully.

The man's eyes flicked over to a cupboard near the folding table.

 

Okay, so. Plan A had just hopped a plane to Crapville. Buffy's instincts kept her moving as she did her best to analyze the situation.

Buyer Guy, whose actual name she couldn't remember, had gotten one look at her and panicked. She was certain it had been herself and not Gwen that had caused the flight response, and the only thing she could think of was that he hadn't been a very good boy and having the Head Slayer of the New Council show up on his doorstep... Well, she'd gotten that reaction before, so it wasn't anything new. Demons still scattered when she walked into a bar in Cleveland.

By now they were on the street, weaving through crowds of people who seemed particularly irate about being shoved to the side. He turned into an alley and Buffy followed, finally able to pick up a bit of speed without obstacles in her way... But halfway into the alley, grey and wet and smelling particularly horrible, the man stopped and turned, a gun held tightly in his hand, pointed straight at Buffy. She froze, nearly flailing as her body tried to keep moving forward, both hands held up in a surrendering gesture.

"Whoa, hey, what's with the gun?" she demanded, hoping to get some answers before he decided to give her the second bullet-induced trauma of her life. "We just wanted to talk."

"Talk?!" the man answered incredulously, and Buffy could see the way he was beginning to shake. "If they'd just wanted to talk, they wouldn't have sent you. I know who you are, I know who you _work_ for!" He was starting to sound hysterical and Buffy couldn't begin to think of what to say.

Continuing in that trembling tone, the gun shook precariously as he said, "I didn't know when I bought it. I _didn't know_!" The words were starting to run together. "But I sold it, I sold it and _it won't be my fault!_ "

Buffy could only stare in shock as the man suddenly turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger.

 

Jack walked out of the small, musty shop shaking his head. He turned the artifact over in his hands. It was an alien power source, but it wasn't dangerous. He'd seen loads of them. Still, can't have them just floating around London. He tossed it to Ianto as they emerged into the wider cross street. Ianto caught it easily as he stepped up beside Jack. He was frowning at his PDA, as the other two signals in the area seemed less likely than the one they'd gotten from the object he was holding. He looked at Jack and shook his head. Jack shrugged and they headed back to the hotel. They could continue widening the scan, but mostly he was hoping that Gwen and Buffy had managed to locate the buyer and retrieve the Warp Star. That would certainly make things a whole lot easier than their missions, as a rule, tended to be.

Gwen had lost Buffy after the third street the chased had turned onto, rather out of her depth in a city she didn't know anywhere near as well as Cardiff. It also didn't help that the two of them were easily faster than Gwen, which really was a bit of feat in itself. Pausing to catch both her breath and bearings, she lifted a hand to the comm device in her ear and tried contacting Buffy.

Nothing.

She tried again and still received no answer.

Alright... So maybe her own device had been damaged or something had malfunctioned? She tried again, this time with the others. "Jack? Ianto? Can you hear me?"

Jack was just following Ianto into their hotel room when Gwen's voice came over there comms. He looked at Ianto, then touched the device at his ear.

"Gwen? We can hear you. What's wrong? Did you find the buyer?"

"Found him," she confirmed, "but he took one look at us and fled. Buffy's pursuing, but I can't reach her. Thought it might be a problem with the comms.

Gwen took a look around and read off the name of the street she was on.

Jack now glanced at Ianto with a degree of worry. "Do you have any idea which way she went?" he asked Gwen.

Ianto, in the meantime, was putting the alien power supply down on the nightstand and noticed something on the bed, nestled between the top of the bedspread and the pillows. He reached over and grabbed it, just looking at it for a moment. Buffy's comm device.

"Jack," he said.

Jack turned. "Is that...?"

"Yes," Ianto practically growled. She took off her comm and, come to think of it, he had a vague memory of seeing her do it, but it hadn't really registered that she'd _left the hotel without her comm_.

Jack held out a placating hand. "Don't worry," he said, slipping his mobile out of his pocket. "We'll give her a call on her phone."

"She doesn't have a phone," Ianto said tightly.

Jack stopped mid-dial. "What?"

"She killed her phone this afternoon."

"She _what_?" Jack said more forcefully.

"She threw it at the wall in the archive," Ianto told him. "Smashed it into about a hundred billion pieces. She doesn't _have_ a phone, she just had _this_." He held up the earpiece.

Jack ran a hand through his hair and cursed silently for what felt like a full minute. He touched his comm device again.

"Gwen, stay there. We're coming to you."


	14. Good Old London Town - Part 2

Buffy Summers wasn't having a very good day. It had started out decently enough, she seemed to recall, but maybe that was the frustration talking and not actual common sense. Eh, common sense didn't really have a place in her world, anyway, be that Slayer World or Torchwood World. 

And really, it couldn't get much worse, right?

Running her hands through her hair, she kicked at the concrete wall in frustration, cursing under her breath that she just had to get stuck with the now dead guy. The dead guy who apparently had been just what they were looking for, and had now taken their much-needed answers with him.

She sighed loudly and reached up to activate her comm, wanting to contact Gwen and figure out where the hell she was and then let Jack know that things had gone pear-shaped... The realization that the comm wasn't there was followed by another kick at the wall. Buffy glanced around the alley, checking the ground for the lost piece, and then smacked herself in the forehead.

" _Stupid_ Buffy!" 

She really should have learned not to tempt the PTB like that.

 

Jack and Ianto took the SUV and tore through the streets of London, Jack behind the wheel, breaking, no doubt, a very long list of traffic laws on their way to Gwen's position. The vehicle had barely come to a stop on the pavement when they jumped out, descending on Gwen, Buffy's comm device tucked neatly into Ianto's pocket.

"Where did you see her last?" Jack asked, forgoing any pleasantries. "Which way did she go?"

 

Buffy bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next, especially about Mr Holey over there, when she heard voices at the entrance to the alley. The sound of the gunshot hadn't gone unnoticed then. Greeeat. That was just what they needed.

A small crowd of people had gathered there and, as she approached them with her authoritative gait, she could have sworn they took a collective step back. "Torchwood," she said automatically, tugging out her ident and flashing it in their faces. Despite the fact that it was extremely unlikely that anyone in the crowd would know what that even meant, (unless they'd had family at Canary Wharf, she acknowledged with an inward grimace,) they would know she was someone in charge, and that was what she needed. "I need to borrow someone's mobile," she explained, forcing herself to call the blasted things the British term.

"I've got the paramedics on the line," a middle-aged woman offered, handing over her phone without a second thought. The woman was so trusting... She shouldn't be.

"There's no need, he's already dead," Buffy explained before turning away, heading back from the crowd and dismissing the call with a drop of a name and a "We'll take care of it." It was much easier to do when the locals hadn't actually made it out to the scene.

 

Gwen was more than a little frustrated, at Buffy for having been so bloody stupid as to run off without any means of communicating with the team, but mostly at herself for not being able to keep up in the first place. It was more Gwen's nature to take the fault herself, a remnant of police training where every mistake is your own, but she still allotted a good deal of that judgement for her blonde coworker.

Gesturing off down the street, she told Jack, "She ran off in that direction, but the way they were going, could be _anywhere_ by-" Her words were cleanly cut by the sound of Jack's phone going off.

Jack frowned, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He didn't recognize the number. He glanced at Ianto, then answered it tentatively.

"Hello?" he said. Nobody had Jack's number except a very few select people. As soon as he heard Buffy's voice on the other end of the line, his tone changed drastically.

"Where the _bloody_ hell _are_ you?" he demanded.

Ianto's ever-watchful gaze turned slightly surprised at Jack's last question and he looked at Gwen. It could only be Buffy. At least she'd had the resourcefulness to contact them.

Buffy grimaced at the tone that she knew _very_ well, but plowed through her sudden bout of nerves. There was still work to be done, bunches and buckets of it. "An alley off of...," she looked back at the crowd and called to ask them the street name, then relayed it to Jack. "Currently trying to keep back the crowd of people gawking at the _dead guy_ ," she emphasized, conveying the message that yelling at her could wait.

"Oh, a dead guy in a public alley," Jack said conversationally. "That's great. I suppose you want me to send you Ianto."

"No, actually, it's kinda normal dead guy stuff, so I figured we could do without pilling everyone for a change," she said, using the same conversational tone he did, knowing she was probably pushing some buttons but failing to really care. "I just put a call in; the NC's gonna send a team to collect Mr. Holey and take care of things on this end, keep the locals out and everything, while we continue our little Warp Star chase."

Jack tone hardened again. "And who, exactly, authorized _that_?" he asked.

Ianto and Gwen could only hear Jack's side of the conversation and Ianto was starting to get uneasy. Jack's current tone wasn't one he used with them often.

"What's her position?" Ianto asked softly. Jack waved him off. Ianto looked at Gwen with a degree of trepidation.

Buffy's voice softened and her tone turned completely apologetic. "Jack, we don't have _time_ to take care of the little things," she tried to explain, hoping desperately that he would understand. "I should've cleared it with you first, I know that, but the sooner they get here, the sooner we can get back to stopping this dastardly plan." Because there was a plan, she could just sense it.

"Jack, you should've seen this guy. He was _terrified_ the moment he saw me, and the way he ran..." She took a deep breath, glancing back at the fidgety crowd. "He sold the Warp Star, said it wouldn't be his fault, then just shot himself. Something's going down and it's _big_. I can feel it."

"Ianto and Gwen are coming to pick you up," he told her, his voice still on the icy side. "You'll get your ass in the car. The three of you will go back to the hotel and wait for me in my room. You will not go _anywhere_ until I get back. Am I making myself _absolutely_ clear?" he growled. 

He had to see someone and this person wouldn't see him with an entourage. Normally, he would probaby tell them that. Hell, half an hour ago, he probably would have told them that... but he wasn't inclined at the moment. In this case it could double as an exercise in people doing what they're told to do when they're told to do it. 

It wasn't that Torchwood didn't have its share of little power struggles. Jack had his hands full with Gwen often enough, for one. He knew Buffy was used to being in charge and he never slapped her down that hard when he'd had to remind her that she wasn't anymore. _However_ , bringing in agents from another organization - outsiders - without his authorization and presenting it tidily as a fait accompli was a little beyond testing his patience. She could have called Jack first. She called the New Council first. Maybe it was the idea that her loyalties were divided that didn't sit well with him. He had to know where she stood in a crisis. So far... well, she'd called _them_ first, hadn't she?

Gwen's eyes widened at the sound of Jack's voice. He'd never... She'd never _heard_ him speak to Buffy like that. Normally those two were as thick as thieves, joking and playing and being _friends_. Now though... Well, 'friend' didn't come into play when Jack was in Torchwood mode. 

She glanced at Ianto before heading back to the SUV. If Jack needed a little calming down so he didn't kill their American teammate, she was not the one to do it.

 

Buffy closed her eyes at the words that came through the phone, biting her lower lip to keep the stupid, overemotional tears at bay. She'd messed up, big time, when all she'd been trying to do was help. She'd known Jack wouldn't approve, but sometimes she just... She wanted to be something more than a bodyguard, wanted to bring something to the team that was more than just muscle.

"Yes, sir," she said, very quietly, before ending the call. She didn't bother trying to fumble her way through erasing the phone's memory -- it wasn't necessary. She'd called the NC first not only because it would get the team there faster, but because they could patch her through to Jack securely, without worry of the wrong people getting hold of information. But that didn't really matter in the end, did it? She hadn't passed the test, plain and simple.

A screech of tires made her turn, the sight of a large black van, not unlike Torchwood's, actually, stopping behind the crowd making her smile. At least, until she saw the first person to file out.

Oh, goodie. Just what she needed. _Kennedy_.

 

"Jack -" Ianto started, but Jack wasn't in the mood to be talked down. Not even by Ianto... though his tone did soften considerably when he addressed the younger man.

"She's in an alley just off of Union Street in Southwark," he said, stopping Ianto from saying whatever he was going to say. "When you get back to the hotel, run down all known associates of the dealer Gwen and Buffy went to see. Buffy says he shot himself in the alley after telling her that he sold the Warp Star to someone."

Ianto nodded, then went to the SUV and climbed behind the wheel, pulling carefully off of the pavement and into the street.

 

Buffy was in the middle of her usual pissing contest with Kennedy when she saw the Torchwood SUV coming down the street. Who would have thought she'd be happy about _that_ one? The team of Watchers in Training, Slayer technicians, and medical staff had made short work of the alley, and the crowd, cleaning up the entire mess once everything had been expertly recorded. It gave Buffy a little bit of pride, knowing that her rebuilt Council could rival Torchwood with its detective methods. Not that it was going to help her win back any points...

She'd just spotted Gwen and Ianto heading toward them when Kennedy, _once again_ , demanded that Buffy help them out with a little apocalypse-type thing going on at the moment. "You're here already, I don't see why you can't just spare a few hours and-"

Buffy had had enough. "Because I'm _busy_ , Kennedy!" she suddenly said in a very sharp, very strained tone that had the rest of the NC team looking on with wide eyes and shocked expressions. "You aren't the only ones trying to stop the end of the world, you know. It's not _my job_ anymore to help stop a bunch of Fyarl demons running wild in Piccadilly Circus."

Kennedy glared at Buffy, refusing to acknowledge the fact that she had formerly been her own superior even as the rest of her team showed Buffy that level of respect. "Then why the bloody hell do we have to come running to help _you_ with your crap?"

Buffy's eyes narrowed and her voice went dangerously low. "Because you _owe me_ ," she growled. "I gave up my _life_ to be the Slayer. The Council owes me the _right_ to get it _back_." And then she turned, stalking toward her awaiting teammates.

Unable to avoid overhearing the tense conversation, Ianto declined to point out that maybe she should have thought of that before she called them in to do the cleanup. Torchwood could have dealt with the mess in the alley. He tried not to take it as an implication that he wasn't capable of doing his job. He opened the back door of the SUV for Buffy to get in and closed it behind her. Perfect gentleman... but he didn't say a word. Just a curt nod when she came up to them. He got back behind the wheel and nosed out into traffic towards the hotel.

Buffy could tell by the silence in the vehicle that she'd messed things up on this end, too. It made her feel... small, and useless. It reminded her of all those times back in high school when she'd tried her best and still hadn't managed to ever be good enough for anyone.

Something was out there, something was going to happen soon, and all she'd wanted to do was try and make it easier for them so they could get to the root of the problem that much quicker. Their little team was just that, little, and the New Council had people to spare for the grunt work like this. They were the only ones who could find this thing and stop it, so she'd thought... It didn't matter what she'd thought. She'd been wrong.

Gwen glanced back at Buffy from her seat up front next to Ianto, a frown etched into her expression. The other woman looked so small, leaning her forehead against the window and watching the world fly by with tired eyes. With that single impression, Gwen knew Buffy hadn't meant for things to go this poorly. The poor girl had only been trying to help... Now Jack was angry with her, and Ianto, too, if his silence was anything to judge by. Poor thing...

Ianto dropped the car keys on the bedside table. Jack had told them to wait in _his_ room. Which also happened to be Ianto's room. He tossed the remote control for the TV to Gwen then took Buffy's comm device out of his pocket and held it out to her.

Gwen perched on the end of a bed and turned on the TV, flipping through to a news broadcast, just for something to help fill the extremely uncomfortable silence. She watched Buffy with sympathetic eyes as the blonde woman took a seat in the armchair in the corner, furthest from the table and the beds, at the very edge of everything. It was like... Like she was trying to disappear. She did take note, however, that Buffy had put her comm device back on again; she very much doubted the younger woman would ever take it off again, at this rate.

Ianto sat down at the laptop and began searching databases, setting up a program to cross-reference the dealer's known associates with any possible terrorist threats.

"What exactly did he say to you?" he asked, breaking the silence without turning around to look at Buffy.

Gwen noticed a slight shaking in Buffy's voice when she answered, "I told him we wanted to talk. He said 'If they'd just wanted to talk, they wouldn't have sent you. I know who you are, I know who you work for.' He said he didn't know when he bought it, but he'd sold it, and it wouldn't be his fault." There was a weariness to the words, and something underneath that... Something that Gwen couldn't identify.

She had to give Buffy points, though. Relaying the man's final words exactly would at least be a step in the right direction to getting back on Ianto's good side.

Ianto frowned thoughtfully. "Did he mean Torchwood or the New Council?" Ianto asked. He turned around and looked at Buffy then. "What did he mean when he said he knew who you worked for?" he clarified. "How could he know who you are?"

Buffy rubbed a hand over her forehead, a headache trying to throb its way into life, which was _not_ what she needed right then. "I don't know," she answered, wishing she could be more... helpful. But that's what had gotten her into this mess, wasn't it? "Both organizations have equally secure networks. Wherever this guy knows me from, he's got connections."

Gwen couldn't take it anymore. "Ianto, Buffy only called the New Council because she was trying to help..."

The Welsh woman knew they were the wrong words the moment they slipped out of her mouth, but it was too late to take them back.

Ianto spared Gwen a bit of a withering glance before turning his gaze back to his computer screen. "Well it wasn't _your_ job they were doing, was it?" he said flatly, typing something into his search.

"I wonder what sort of connections someone would _need_..." he murmured to himself, his voice trailing off as he looked intently at what he was doing.

Gwen's jaw dropped at Ianto's reply, but the frown returned when she saw Buffy physically wince at the words. She watched the other woman stand, slowly, looking like she was about to tip over at any second, and then make a beeline for the bathroom. The sound of the door heavily clicking closed drifted from one side of the room to the other.

Ianto could feel Gwen's eyes on him and looked up at her, his expression neutral, and held her gaze almost defiantly. He made no move to get up from his seat. After a moment, he returned to his work. There had to be _something_ in the dealer recognizing Buffy. She was right: he'd have needed connections for that. 

At any rate, he thought, knocking on the bathroom door and having a heart to heart with Buffy _was_ pretty much Gwen's job. He carried on with his search silently. They needed to find out what had happened to the Warp Star.

Gwen rolled her eyes at Ianto and stood with a sigh, taking on the job of going after Buffy herself, as anyone would have known her to do. Walking up to the door, she knocked carefully and called, "Buffy?"

Her call was answered by the sound of someone retching into the toilet. Gwen jerked back and frowned. "Buffy," she called again, "sweetheart, are you alright in there?"

Ianto got up and shrugged off his jacket, stepping across the room to hang it from the small closet bar near the bed, with some of his suits and a handful of Jack's shirts. 

He could hear Buffy retching too, but he left it to Gwen. Gwen, who'd never lost anyone very close to her before Tosh and Owen died, then, standing not a foot away from Ianto, exclaimed she wasn't sure if she could go on. He loved Gwen to pieces, but sometimes she didn't think. These kind of toilet dramatics were definitely her territory. He rolled up his sleeves and went back to his computer.

Buffy didn't say anything, just answered Gwen's question by flushing the toilet. She took a moment to rinse out her mouth, wishing she had some toothpaste to help get rid of the taste, then opened the door.

"I'm fine," she told Gwen, her voice quiet, calm. "Just something I ate." It was a lie, they both knew it. Buffy could eat anything, in any quantity, and be perfectly fine. But this wasn't the time for what Gwen was wanting.

Buffy moved past the other woman, ignoring the helpless opening and closing of Gwen's mouth as she tried to formulate some sort of protest, and returned to her seat in the corner of the room. She felt... not better, but different. It was like she'd gotten rid of all the hurt and the pain, flushed it away to the sewers, and all that was left was the empty. That was alright, though. She was used to empty.

Ianto focused on his work, wishing the two women could go back to their own room while Jack was away, but Jack had ordered them all to stay where they were.

Suddenly, he found something. He brought his hand to his ear, activating his comm. "Jack, I have some information for you. It's important." He listened as Jack told him he was five minutes away, then dropped his hand back to the table. He looked at Buffy, turning his laptop so she could see the screen.

"He worked as an aide to the last Prime Minister," Ianto told her. "Do you recognize him?"

Buffy stared at the screen for a long moment, taking in every feature of the man whose photograph was displayed. Finally, she sighed in frustration and shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted, hating the answer and knowing everyone else would as well. "There were so many people I had to meet, deal with, just once or twice to... It was hard to keep them all straight." Just another way in which she'd always been rather useless.

"But if he's in that part of the food chain... They probably got the memo that I switched teams. It was pretty big news in all circles." She wondered if any of them had stopped to think about what she'd actually left behind when she'd joined up with Torchwood, the connections she might have had, the friends and the enemies. Maybe it really hadn't been such a good idea, after all. Maybe all she was doing was causing more problems for a group of people who needed anything but.

"If it crossed the Prime Minister's desk, he was in the way of knowing it," Ianto said. "But he has connections to an underground movement that's looking to collect alien technology," he explained. "Particularly anything that makes a 'bang'. He didn't know the dealer personally, but they have known associates in common. I'm compiling a list with the information for those people." He set his PDA on the table so he could upload the file when it was ready. "Also, Jack is on his way up."

Buffy had the sudden urge to jump out the window, and Gwen could see it in the look on her face.

"I'll just... make some tea...," Gwen said slowly, moving toward where the provided coffee pot had been tossed and looking for a spare outlet. She'd actually been thinking of coffee, originally, but given Ianto's recent comment, that just didn't seem like a good idea.

Ianto rolled his eyes at the computer screen, but didn't say anything.

Jack shrugged off his coat and tossed it onto the bed when he came into the room. He went to Ianto first and got the information he'd just given Gwen and Buffy.

Briefed, he looked over at Gwen. "You can go back to your room now," he said. "Freshen up, call Rhys. Whatever. We'll talk about what I found out over dinner in about half an hour." He looked at Ianto. "Would you mind finding us something to eat?" he asked politely. Ianto nodded, already getting up. He grabbed his own jacket from where he'd hung it and strode purposefully out the door. 

Once Ianto and Gwen were gone, Jack sat down on the edge of the bed and looked across at Buffy. "Where shall we start?" he asked, the bite of earlier gone from his voice. He sounded rather worn out himself.

Buffy had watched Jack in silence, waiting for her turn, waiting to be told to get the hell out. It was what she was truly afraid of, in the end. She'd only been with Torchwood for a month, a single, short month, and she'd been trying so very hard to make things work... She'd tried because she wanted this. She wanted to be a part of this team, wanted for these people to want her with them not because she was the Slayer, but because she was Buffy.

Her hands were folded tightly together in her lap, her shoulders hunched. She felt like she was back in her house in Sunnydale, staring at a pile of bills and feeling so very scared. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, staring down at her hands because she couldn't bear to see his eyes, knowing what he must think of her now.

"I was wrong," she continued, using every ounce of control to keep her voice from wavering. "I was... I was trying to help, but it was the wrong thing to do. I _know_ that, I won't make that mistake again. I'm part of _this_ team, _your_ team, I know that, I told _them_ that... I don't want to leave. Please, Jack. I'm _sorry_."

This job meant so very much to her, and she had been so hurt by her team before this, that she was terrified that she would lose this chance. Terrified that she would lose the place that had quickly become _home_.

He frowned slightly. "'Leave'?" he said. "What are you talking about?" He shook his head and the notion off with it. 

"Listen," he told her. "Two things." He paused, thinking about it, almost seeming to do arithmatic in his head. "For now," he added. "The first thing - and I'd like to point out here that I'm going to ignore the fact that you destroyed your phone this afternoon and you and Ianto didn't tell me," he said, interrupting himself. "Obviously he's warmed to you, which is what I wanted, so I can't really fault the odd bit of covering, even though the fact that you don't, currently, own a phone is the sort of thing I should _probably_ have known before going into the field." 

He held up a finger. "So, the first thing: I understand what you were trying to accomplish, and that's admirable, in and of itself, but you need to understand: I don't _know_ those people, so I don't _trust_ them. Hell, I only trust a very small handful of the people I _do_ know and the fact that I trust you is the only reason I didn't put a stop to that little mop-up operation then and there. _Therefore_ , if you're going to be getting it into your head to call them for our dirty work, as it were, then you need to make some introductions first. And you still need to ask me before you _make_ that call because - second thing - I have people for that kind of work and we can make 'normal dead guy stuff' and borrowed phone calls disappear quite handily on our own, _without_... how did you put it?" He pretended to think about it for half a second. "'Pilling' everyone. And, frankly, a suicide in an public alley can be handled by the local authorities. Why not? Why waste our resources? It's not like he killed himself with an _alien_ gun. Let the Met sort it out," he said with a wave of his hand. He'd looked into the details of the incident before he returned to the hotel. "We'd have already been to his home and cleaned out the 'interesting' artifacts." He shrugged. "Now we don't have to, but you and Gwen could have been doing that while I was seeing a man about some info instead of sitting around here watching Ianto work." He smirked slightly, letting his expression warm a bit. "I'm sure I'm the only one who actually _enjoys_ doing that," he pointed out.

Buffy didn't speak, not because she didn't have things to say, but because she didn't think she should say them, and regardless of that, didn't think she could say them, her vocal cords becoming completely uncooperative in her tense, terrified state.

He'd just... dismissed the idea. It hadn't even been on his radar, the thought of her leaving Torchwood, had it? He hadn't been about to suggest that maybe she wasn't cut out for team life, maybe she was too used to operating in a world where she could go out into the field without a phone and make her own decisions and not have anyone above to report back to because she was the one making the calls. 

Normally, she would have argued about the phone, pointed out that there hadn't exactly been a lot of time in the grande scheme of things, in between getting the information and jumping to get to London, and she and Ianto both had been more than a little distracted by their very unwelcome houseguest. But this wasn't a normal situation and she wasn't feeling anything like her normal self, so she kept quiet, her body beginning to ache from remaining so tense and immobile.

As she processed everything he'd been saying, it gave her time to think, consider the actual reasoning for her actions. She'd gotten back to a part of the world where she finally had resources, and it had just been first nature to... Perhaps she hadn't questioned it because she _did_ trust those girls and their partners, explicitly, because she'd met every single one of them and knew them, their names, their families, their dreams for their Chosen life. Because being Chosen was a gift now, granting those girls a world of options they never would have had before, options that were extended to those with magical aptitude, strong language ability, and a variety of other skill sets. There was so much she knew about these people and she'd never shared an ounce of it with Jack, because she'd been so used to people trusting her and that being the end of it, no further details necessary.

But it didn't work like that anymore.

There had been another reason, though, for her calling the New Council for help. When the man had said he knew her, knew who she worked for... There was a very large possibility he hadn't meant Torchwood, that he'd been somehow connected to the Demon World instead of the Alien one, and you couldn't just hand that over to the police, no matter how competent the local forces might be.

When his words finished, she finally looked up from where his shoes rested on the worn carpet, glancing very briefly at his expression before her gaze fell again. All she could do was nod, her expression drawn and tired, worn around the edges like old stone.

She still wasn't the same Buffy he'd met. Her confidence was gone, her carefully constructed layers of self having easily been shattered by her own doing in a matter of minutes. Now, she was a Buffy who had stood with friends, allies, before a sunken crater formerly called Sunnydale and wondered what she was supposed to do. She was a Buffy who was shellshocked when it came to being a part of a team, never getting too close because she was always waiting for the pain. She was a Buffy she'd thought no longer existed; how many times could be she proven wrong in one day?

"Buffy?" he said, giving her a stern but friendly look. "This is what we call a 'conversation'," he told her. "This quiet bit here, where I'm not talking, is normally where _you_ would talk."

Jack didn't like it when Buffy was quiet. He'd never _known_ Buffy to be quiet. He frowned. "Buffy, what was that 'I don't want to leave' stuff about?" he asked gently. "You didn't _honestly_ think I was kicking you out? We don't work like that around here. You know we don't. I've _told_ you about some of the shenanigans that have gone on at Torchwood. Owen _shot_ me. He didn't even know I couldn't die at the time." He tapped his forehead with a bit of a wry smile. "Right between the eyes. It hurt my feelings a little, I have to say."

She couldn't return the smile, couldn't begin to show that she saw that tiny hint of humor in his words. He wanted a conversation? He wanted her to tell him, to explain, why she was completely wigging out in full panic mode because of one day full of stupid, _stupid_ moves?

"My _best friends_ used to be my team." Her voice was quiet, strained, conveying the real effort she was making to force each word past an uncooperatively tight throat. "We faced everything together, and I always pulled us through, I did what I had to and I saved us. But then the end of the world came, the Really Big, Scary End of the World, and suddenly that wasn't good enough anymore. They didn't like what I was doing, didn't understand..." Tears bit at her eyes and she struggled to keep them back. She hadn't told him before, there hadn't been time, and she wished she didn't have to tell him now. "The world was falling apart and they kicked me out of my own _home_."

She felt so weak and stupid when a few of those tears fell, and she ducked her head in a futile effort to hide them. "This place is my home now, Jack. _Torchwood_ is my home. You and Gwen and Ianto, if he ever forgives me... And I'm so scared of losing that, of messing it up again..." It didn't matter that it hadn't been entirely her fault that first time, after what had happened, it was the only way she was able to see the world when she was on the losing side. "This is it for me. I left the Council and I... I can't go back." She shook her head. "Not that they wouldn't take me back, but... I just can't. I don't have anywhere else to go. There isn't anywhere I'd _want_ to go."

Jack nodded, starting to see why there was a sort of terror behind her eyes. "Buffy, what you just told me is that, of everyone _on_ this team, you're the one most capable of understanding why I have to make the call sometimes without telling you why, and that _you_ can understand why, sometimes, I have to pull you back." He leaned forward, reaching across to squeeze her knee lightly. "And that it's not personal when I do." 

He sat back again. "Nobody is going to kick you out of anywhere, and they're certainly not going to do it for trying to help. We're Misplaced Good Intentions Central around here, if you hadn't noticed." He shrugged. "As for Ianto... he can forgive a lot more than stepping on his toes," Jack told her. " _Believe_ me. He'll probably be fine by the time he gets back with dinner. He was probably fine before he left."

Buffy didn't realize she was moving forward until her arms were wrapped around Jack, her chin resting on his shoulder as she hugged him tightly. It wasn't entirely professional, but in the world of Captain Jack Harkness, she was pretty sure professional got tossed out the window on a weekly basis. If it didn't, he wouldn't be having hot bunny sex with one of his staff. (The thought oddly reminded her of Anya, and how her friend would have been utterly appalled by one of the things she enjoyed most in life being compared with her greatest enemy.)

"I do understand," she assured him quietly. "Thank you..." For what? Everything, of course. Just... everything.

He ran his hand over her back in light circles when she hugged him. When she stood up again, he wagged his finger at her. " _Don't_ do it again," he said mock-crossly, but there was very clear amusement in his eyes. 

He took her arm and pulled her down to sit next to him on the bed. "While we're vaguely on the subject of Ianto," he said in a much more tentative tone, "what happened with you and him and Hart?" he asked. "Something's been bothering him all afternoon."

Buffy settled in easily beside Jack, falling back into their old comfortableness like putting on a favorite pair of shoes. She leaned against him, relishing the feeling of acceptance he'd just offered her, then sighed. "From what you told me before, just a lot more of his usual," she explained wearily. "He was baiting Ianto, and _I_ was the one who couldn't take it."

"Hence him roughed up on the floor," Jack concluded. "Which he probably enjoyed, but nevermind." He looked at Buffy. "You're not going to tell me what he said, are you?" he surmised, raising an eyebrow at her. "You know, you two..." 

He was interrupted by a short knock at the door that was followed by the door opening. Ianto came in with bags of hot food, Gwen right behind him. He must have knocked on her door first.

Buffy had been about to raise her own eyebrow, wondering just who he was going to talk about with the 'you two' comment, but she was more than grateful for the interruption of food. She never had gotten over to the little pastry shop down the street, and it had been quite a while since her last meal.

Gwen plopped down into a chair and breathed in deeply. "Oh, that smells _lovely_ ," she told Ianto with a smile. Buffy wasn't the only one who had been on the verge of starvation.

Ianto handed out the drinks from a cardboard tray - lemonade for Gwen, Diet Coke for Buffy and a bottle of water for Jack - then gave each of them a white paper bag before taking his own over to the table to sit down at his laptop with it. He unpacked his burger absently, while reading what had come up on his screen in his absence. In fact, he'd gotten them all burgers, except for Buffy. He recalled her mentioning that she didn't like them. Something about a meat palace? He got her a grilled chicken sandwich with a pickle on the side (American style) and a garden salad. He took a drink of his orange juice and started a search on the computer. Once of the results had caught his eye and he frowned, tapping at the buttons, his gaze focused, again, quite intently on the screen.

Buffy took the bag gratefully, then had to fight off a pout when she saw Gwen begin to devour her burger. Well, it wasn't like she _couldn't_ eat burgers... She just preferred not to experience those particular flashbacks to her Doublemeat days. And, really, she couldn't expect Ianto to remember that random story from her first week with Torchwood, he'd been busy, after all. Because that's what it was, he just hadn't remembered -- she wouldn't dare think that he might have done it on pur-

Her train of thought came to a screeching halt when she opened up the bag and pulled out her sandwich. There was a salad in there, too. He _had_ remembered! And he wasn't mad at her anymore! He would only have gone to that extra effort if he wasn't mad at her anymore.

Suddenly the entire room was brighter, and there was a happy Slayer inhaling her very delicious food.

Ianto was staring at his computer looking vaguely irritated, his food sitting untouched beside it, but _Jack_ noticed the look on Buffy's face when she opened the bag. He'd tried to tell her. Ianto Jones did not hold grudges. If he did, Jack would be sleeping alone many times over. Then John Hart crossed his mind. Okay, he mentally conceded, Ianto Jones holds the odd grudge or two. He couldn't really blame him for _that_. He was still curious as to what Hart had said to Ianto, but Buffy didn't seem likely to talk and Ianto sure as hell wouldn't tell him... and checking the Hub's CCTV footage would seem too much like _spying_ , wouldn't it? 

And also Ianto was using the computer. 

He chewed a bite of his burger thoughtfully, watching Ianto work. Ianto had all but ignored his food since he got back. Jack recognized the look of intense concentration on the younger man's face as one he wore when he did... pretty much anything from making coffee to diffusing an alien explosive (true story), so it was hard to tell if he'd stumbled upon a real lead or if he was just plugging along with a mundane cross-reference and simply wasn't hungry.

"Why are you staring at me?" Ianto intoned without looking up to the point that he very nearly actually startled _Jack_. Jack, who always knew when Ianto entered a room, no matter how softly he could tread. "You've been staring at me all afternoon," he pointed out.

Jack shrugged. "I just like looking at you," he replied flirtily.

Ianto rolled his eyes and looked at Jack over the computer, about to say something, before something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and his gaze snapped back to the screen. A look of consternation mixed with... dismay? replaced the irritated focus he'd worn since he got back to the room. Jack put his food down on top of the wrapper and pushed it along the bedspread, away from him.

"What is it?" he said, his entire demeanour going from a little playful to utterly serious, like flipping a switch.

Ianto looked at him over top of the computer again and, for the first time that day, didn't seem able to hide anything he was feeling from appearing on his face. Sadness, resignation... and a tinge of fear.

"I was tracking the movements of the man who worked at the Prime Minister's office," Ianto told them, his voice even and carefully controlled. "Using his mobile phone usage patterns, I was developing a sort of map of his recent activities. On four occasions in the past two weeks, he visited the same location - including yesterday afternoon. Someplace suspicious. Someplace he definitely shouldn't have been."

He turned the laptop around so they could see the screen. A map of London pinpointing the location of a very familiar tower. It had been scorched and plundered and shunned, but, strictly speaking, the empty building itself still belonged to Torchwood.

"It would seem we have squatters," Ianto told them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on _So Buffy Met Jack_ :
> 
> The Return to Canary Wharf!


	15. The Return to Canary Wharf - Part 1

Gwen was the only one in the room who hadn't experienced the tragedy of Canary Wharf when the disaster had actually taken place; she'd learned the truth behind it, seen the aftermath when she'd joined Torchwood, but before that it had only been a story on the news. 

Buffy hadn't even been in the country, but she'd still experienced the heartache and loss of that day more than Gwen had. There had been a number of New Council members who had family in London, even more still who had friends in the area. All of them had waited in front of the large televisions screens while their best technicians cycled through the levels of information, trying to get any scrap of news back to those with loved ones. A few days later, when the list of the dead had started being released, she'd held Anne, a sixteen-year-old girl, as she mourned the loss of her older sister.

Buffy didn't even know where to begin with a situation like this, and so she looked to Jack, waiting for orders. This wasn't her call, and frankly, she didn't want it to be.

Jack nodded, looking at the screen for a long moment before lifting his eyes, briefly, to Ianto's face, then he glanced at Gwen and Buffy in turn. He checked his watch. "It's too late to go tonight. We don't want to be stumbling around that place in the dark, possibly engaging and enemy that's dug in there."

Ianto turned the computer back to himself. "I think they may have been there for a while now," he said. "Their website indicates that they're willing to use alien technologies to force the government into publicly acknowledging the alien threat. What better secret headquarters for their movement than the former secret headquarters of the secret organization that deals secretly with alien threats on what I'm sure they assume is the government's secret behalf?" Ianto said dryly.

Buffy stared at Ianto for a long moment, trying to count up the number of times he'd said the word 'secret' in that sentence. Four? Five? There hadn't been a lot of words between them. And, really, she may be Secret Identity Girl, but even she had her limits.

She glanced at Gwen, who was also staring at Ianto, and said, "Huh?"

Gwen blinked at Buffy before shaking her head. "So what you're saying is..." Gwen's voice trailed off and she struggled to find a word, wishing there was a cloud of them floating above her head so she could just reach up and grab the right one. "I'm sorry," she finally admitted, her accent heavier than usual from the hour and the tired feeling creeping into her bones. "I've no idea what you're saying." The daylong battle with Captain John Hart had not done her any favors.

Jack knew what he was saying. Ianto had mentioned that this former PM's aide had connections to some sort of potential terrorist organization. They were buying up dangerous alien goods and they planned to use them to force the government to bring the so-called alien threat out into the open. Obviously a fair number of the more recent alien attacks had been public to the point that they couldn't be covered up, but these people wanted everyone to know everything that was going on. They had no idea how damaging that would be to society. There were days Jack wished he didn't know half the things that went on in secret in the dark.

"They're going to use the Warp Star to try and force the government into making a public statement about the danger that aliens pose to the Earth," Jack concluded. "Maybe even expose some of the Earth's defenses... like Torcwhood."

"I doubt they'd have many qualms about following through with their threat either," Ianto told them. "I haven't been able to track down very many of their members yet, but a couple of the ones I've found are ex-IRA."

"And they know enough that they managed to get inside Canary Wharf at their convenience - a building that was sealed using Torchwood's technology," Jack pointed out.

Gwen's expression was anything but pleased, and Buffy covered her eyes with her hand. "So basically," the Californian woman said, "we have a problem. A big one." Understatement of the year, but those were her specialty.

Gwen shook her head at Buffy's words, then redirected her attention back to Jack. "How are we going to deal with this problem, then? Run in, guns flying, or a more subtle approach?" If Gwen didn't know any better, she'd said Buffy's speech patterns were rubbing off on her.

Jack looked at Gwen. "You, me and Buffy are going to go in there in the morning and take a look around." 

He just started to turn to give Ianto his instructions when a sharp "What?" came from behind the computer.

"I want you to stay here," Jack told him.

"What for?" he asked, accusation lacing his tone.

"To coordinate the operation. We might need information..."

"That's what this is for," Ianto interrupted, holding up the PDA.

"Ianto..."

"Don't mollycoddle me, Jack. I know the facility better than any of you."

"I'm aware of that," Jack said calmly, swallowing the urge to speak more forceably to the other man. "But you haven't been back there. You don't know how you're going to react."

"Which is different from any other situation in this job how?" he asked.

Jack sighed, but didn't reply.

"You need me there, Jack. You need what I know."

Jack glanced around at Gwen and Buffy, but didn't say anything. He stood up and went over to the window, looking out it very briefly before turning his back to it and leaning against the edge of the wall than ran alongside it. Ianto turned in his seat to follow Jack with his eyes as the captain moved across the room.

"I don't like it," Jack said.

"I don't like it either," Ianto told him sternly.

Jack didn't speak for another long moment, then stood up straight suddenly. "Fine. First thing in the morning, we all go."

Buffy had watched the argument, if that's what you wanted to call it, with extreme interest that she didn't even bother trying to hide. She didn't understand, at first, why Jack would want to keep Ianto back from this particular field mission. She'd heard about when Ianto had first joined Torchwood 3, when he'd had very little experience in the field, but how, during that summer when Jack had been gone, he'd really come into his own. So then why...

The thoughts clicked together as Gwen stood, taking the last of her meal with her and heading for the door. "Right then, I'm exhausted," she explained to the group. "I'll see you lot in the morning."

Buffy gave Gwen a nod and told her, "I'll be over in a sec," before turning back to the two men. After a few quiet seconds, each of them passing by with audible tics, she finally spoke.

"You were there that day, weren't you?" she asked Ianto in a gentle voice, hoping not to upset the man who she'd truly come to see as a friend over the last four weeks.

He looked up from the computer sharply and his first reaction was, perhaps a little pettily, mild shock that there was something Buffy didn't know about him.

"I used to work there," he said quietly, some of the fight in him having dissipated when Jack gave in. He looked back down at the screen, typing in some information to narrow his search. He could hear Jack moving between the window and his chair. It was too slow to really be pacing, but Jack didn't seem able to stand still either. He heard Jack stop when he answered Buffy; felt Jack's eyes on the back of his head.

"Yes, I was there that day," Ianto said almost mechanically, amending his answer.

Buffy's expression softened even more as her hunch was proven correct. Oh, but she'd wished she'd been wrong. There was that saying, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' Well, sometimes it didn't. Sometimes it just hurt, and sometimes it broke you.

She didn't give her actions any thought as she set aside her things and stood, carefully making her way over to Ianto. It was instinct, her need to help people, to make sure no one ever felt alone like she always had. There wasn't any warning for Ianto before she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, one hand on his back while the other gently smoothed his hair.

Most people, in a moment like that, would try to come up with something wonderfully profound to say. Few ever realized that words didn't matter in the face of pain. Only actions mattered, actions that could offer comfort and sympathy and understanding. It was all in that simple embrace that lasted less than ten seconds before she was pulling back again with a sad, slightly watery smile. And then she followed Gwen's example, grabbing the remains of her meal and heading out of the room without a word.

Ianto wasn't sure how he felt about the hug. He was a bit taken aback by it, yet a little moved, as well. He wasn't used to being touched like that, unsolicited. Even Gwen seemed to sense that and limited her contact to the odd time she'd briefly put her hand on his arm. Ianto stared at the door for a long moment after it closed behind Buffy. He turned to say something to Jack, but Jack was looking at him with a determined set to his jaw.

"Jack..." Ianto started in a warning tone.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Jack told him firmly.

"Yes, I do," Ianto answered, his tone matching Jack's now as he turned back to his computer.

"Could you stop doing that for, like, five seconds?" Jack asked him, a little irritated.

Obligingly, Ianto took his hands off the keyboard and turned to look at Jack. "Do you think I'm being reckless?" he asked. "Irresponsible?"

"No, of course not," Jack replied. "But I think you have this notion..."

Ianto stood up. His height was very close to Jack's, negating some of the effect of the captain's imposing physical presence. "I have this notion that I know that building like the back of my hand and I'll never forget it. I think that will be a strategic advantage that we can't afford not to use since, as you said, the enemy has likely dug in."

"I'm not going to change my mind at this point," Jack assured him, his tone softening. "You're coming with us. I just..." His voice trailed off. He wasn't even sure what he was trying to accomplish. Ianto was possessed of enough self-awareness to understand what he was signing up for.

They looked at each other for a long time before Ianto let his defiant facade crumble, just a bit. He stepped forward and Jack folded him into his arms. He felt Ianto's arms wrap around his waist and the warmth of Ianto's cheek against his neck and genuine concern replaced the general annoyance that had occupied his expression since the discussion about who was going to Canary Wharf started.

"I know," Jack murmured.

 

Gwen was on the phone with Rhys when Buffy entered the room, so the Slayer had finished her meal quickly, trying not to eavesdrop too much, before hurrying into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She'd never been so grateful for hotel-supplied toothpaste in her life. She felt like she was doing a round of hotel camping, traveling without any of her stuff and just hoping for the best. She'd survived worse, of course, but the toothpaste really did work wonders. 

By the time Buffy emerged from the bathroom, squeaky clean from a shower and wrapped up in the not-so-soft robe that she was fairly certain had been washed recently, Gwen had finished with her phone call. "Oh, a bath sounds amazing," the Welsh woman exclaimed. "Just the thing."

Buffy grinned, toweling her hair dry while Gwen grabbed a few things from the bag that she apparently kept at Torchwood all the time. Just in case. Just as Gwen was about to disappear into the bathroom, Buffy suddenly had a thought and called out, "Hey, Gwen? Mind if I use your phone?"

"Go right ahead, love!" was the reply before the door shut and water began splashing into the tub.

A quick call to Spike. That was just what she needed.

 

Jack felt Ianto shift under his arm as he reached over to turn off the alarm. Ianto got to that alarm much too quickly to have been sleeping, Jack thought. No light filtered through the curtains yet. It was still dark outside. They wanted to get to Canary Wharf around dawn.

Ianto moved towards the edge of the bed to get up, but Jack pulled him back with a grin. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked softly.

"The toilet," Ianto answered, deadpan, before looking at Jack over his shoulder.

"You didn't even say 'good morning' yet," Jack pointed out.

"Good morning," Ianto told him obligingly, unable to keep the hint of a smile off his face.

Jack leaned forward and kissed him warmly. "Good morning," he answered, then released him. Ianto gave him a bit of a fuller smile, shaking his head slightly, before he did get out of bed. A few minutes after the bathroom door closed, Jack heard the shower come on. He forced himself to get up and grab some clothes.

 

Buffy groaned when the sound of an alarm cut through her very peaceful, very deep sleep. She heard Gwen curse quietly before shuffling out of bed to turn it off. When had Gwen set that alarm? Why had Gwen set that alarm? It was still dark! O' Dark Thirty, as Xander would say.

Gwen was saying something to her. Something about... getting up? She couldn't be serious. Sweet mother of Zeus, she was serious! (Really, she had to stop doing impressions of Xander, they were starting to have horrendous side effects.) Buffy groaned a little more loudly this time.

Gwen just chuckled and started work on getting the coffee pot to cooperate.

 

Ianto didn't look much relaxed from the hot shower, Jack noticed as he sipped tea and watched him get meticulously dressed. When Ianto turned from the mirror after straightening his tie, Jack pushed the other mug of tea on the table towards him. He didn't ask Ianto if he was ready or if he had everything. Nobody Jack had ever met was as thorough as Ianto was.

Ianto picked up the tea and took a quick sip, pocketing his PDA in almost the same motion. He set the tea down and checked his gun before putting it away inside his jacket. He went to the door and opened it, flicking the deadbolt so it would be propped just slightly open for Buffy and Gwen, then went back to his tea while they waited for the women to arrive.

It was only after the first few gulps of really bad coffee that Buffy managed to do such thought-provoking tasks as get dressed and locate her gun, comm, and ID. She was suddenly very glad that she'd opted to shower the night before; she'd already had the experience of drowning in a puddle, she really didn't need to top that by drowning in a shower.

With Gwen ushering her along, Buffy managed to stumble across the hall to Jack's and Ianto's room, a topped-off cup of coffee in her hand. She promptly collapsed into the chair she'd used the day before, very nearly covering herself in spilled coffee, and continued to nurse her caffeine addiction.

When Gwen and Buffy entered, Jack was sitting, sipping tea, with one booted foot up on the table while Ianto worked, again, on the laptop. Jack suspected it was busy work to calm his nerves more than something necessary to their mission, but he didn't discourage it. If Ianto needed to run every piece of information in the case through the computer seven times in order to deal with going back to Canary Wharf, then Jack was happy for him to do it.

Jack looked over at Buffy in her chair in the corner. "I can smell that stuff from here," he said of the third-rate coffee in her cup. "You'll notice that we're drinking tea. Even Ianto can't make that hotel coffee pot produce something fit for human consumption, and that's saying something."

"I like to think that the past five years have made me immune to crappy coffee," Buffy mumbled as she peered at Jack over the top of her mug. "As soon as a Mini would start getting the hang of the coffee maker, punishment time would be over and they'd send me someone new."

Gwen raised her eyebrows at the term 'mini' and added it to the many others Buffy had used to describe her former coworkers. It was a colorful world that Buffy had lived in before, and Gwen wasn't ashamed to admit that she rather liked dull, grey Cardiff sometimes. A bit more predictable, grey was.

"That's about the time that you have to get yourself a Coffee God," Jack told her. 

Ianto cleared his throat and gave Jack a pointed look that Jack only answered with a grin. Ianto shook his head and turned back to his computer, but his expression had become slightly bemused.

Gwen struggled not to giggle out loud. Poor Ianto, he really was never going to be able to get away from that nickname. Buffy was relentless. Good thing, too; Ianto kept them on their toes, so he needed someone to keep him on his.

"There's no chance we've got an alien cloning machine tucked away in the basement, is there?" Buffy asked, genuinely curious but also just wanting to ruffle Ianto's feathers a bit; even half comatose, she could read the tension in his actions. A familiar distraction was just what he needed. "Maybe a miniaturizer as well, so my Ianto can be pocket-sized?" She held up a hand, thumb and forefinger indicating a length of about two inches. Perfect Pocket Ianto size, in her opinion. She was sure he'd still be able to work his coffee magic at that height.

Ianto gave her an almost comically mortified look. Jack took a moment to compose himself so he wouldn't laugh out loud, then stood up, glancing at his watch. "Alright," he announced. "It's about that time."

Gwen and Ianto moved past him and he leaned into Buffy before she did as well.

"Thank you," he said softly, then strolled off after the team.

Buffy just watched them go, the three people who had accepted her into their family, and smiled softly. He'd hired her to keep them safe; an overly anxious Ianto could turn into a sloppy Ianto, and sloppy could get you killed very easily. So really, she'd just been doing her job, plain and simple. At least, that's what she would say if anyone ever asked.

She sighed and glanced down at the remainder of her coffee before gulping it down. What followed was a face she'd made pretty much every time she'd gotten drunk with Spike. Yep, not only did the coffee look like mud, but it tasted like it too.

Hurrying after her teammates, Buffy wondered just where one might find an alien cloning device...

 

A short time later, they were standing in front of the Torchwood Tower. Ianto took his old Torchwood One ID badge out of his pocket. Some of the building's defense systems were still active and they didn't know how the intruders had gotten past them. Using his top level access at Torchwood Three, Ianto got into the remaining security systems at Torchwood One and granted himself top level access there. He could have used it then. He might have gotten to Lisa before... 

He dismissed the thought and looked up the tower, just making out, from the ground, where it came to a point against the sky. He remembered smoke coming out of the executive floors up there on that day, when he'd finally stumbled, choking, out into daylight, carrying Lisa, her condition hidden by a fire blanket that he'd prayed nobody would displace.

Jack stayed at his shoulder, but just behind him, as they approached the door into the building's expansive lobby. Ianto pressed his ID badge to the scanner and the doors slid open smoothly. He didn't look back at Jack or the others before stepping decisively into the building. He glanced around. It was dimly lit by emergency lighting. Only then did he look at Jack, as he drew his gun, and noticed that Jack was doing the same. Likely Buffy and Gwen, behind them, were as well.

Jack glanced at Buffy over his shoulder. "Buffy, make sure you cover our rear," he told her in a soft voice that still carried in the deathly silent space. "I don't want any surprises."

The building was a tomb. They shouldn't have been there. Nobody should ever have entered it again, as far as Ianto was concerned. Not since Suzie and Tosh had cleaned out the dangerous technology and destroyed the rest, transferring all files to Cardiff and permanently erasing all of Canary Wharf's IT systems. He'd watched them come and go from afar. He tucked his ID back into his pocket with his left hand (his right was still gripping the handle of his gun tightly) and pulled out the PDA before leading them towards the north staircase. The lifts would not be safe.

It struck Buffy as rather odd that a 'secret' organization would be so very... flashy, as to have a giant building right in the middle of the city as their headquarters. Sure, hiding in plain sight was a great tactic, but it still just felt... wrong. Maybe it was all those years spent hiding who she was in Sunnydale, and then the years following that were spent building up the New Council and establishing the schools and the offices and an entire layered network that was buried under layers of public front to keep them all safe. 

It wasn't just that, either. Buffy could literally _feel_ the death that emanated from the building, like she was walking through a cemetery. She knew there weren't any bodies left in the building, there had been as massive cleanup after the horrible disaster, but she could almost taste it in the air, hear it calling to her. It made her throat tight and her eyes burn, like the sunlight was too bright for the sensations she was experiencing and it was choking her.

But she had a job to do, and so she pushed those feelings aside, pushed passed that tingling feeling that wasn't quite vampire or demon, and kept her eyes open and moving, listening and feeling for anything _else_ that might be wrong. 

Gwen was silent beside her, the woman's eyes wide as she took in the building that had been the site of a massacre. Canary Wharf had loomed over them all during those weeks following the incident with Ianto's girlfriend, and now it was right here and it was so very real.

They stood in the stairwell, at the bottom of the stairs. Again, the space was dimly lit by emergency lighting. Ianto peered at the PDA, then glanced up the square spiral that seemed to go on forever for a moment before frowning, again, at the device. "I can't pinpoint the location that the lifesigns are coming from," Ianto told them. "I think there are at least four people in the building, on two or three different floors." He looked up again. "And they're near the top, not quite as far as the executive levels." He looked at Jack. "I don't imagine they would be very serviceable anyway."

"Have you ever been up there?" Jack asked.

Ianto just snorted and started up the stairs. As _if_ a junior researcher would have ever breathed the air of the exalted executive floors. He'd worked there for over a year and he'd met Yvonne Hartman exactly once. "I didn't have the clearance," he said over his shoulder.

The two women followed behind Jack and Ianto, each step seeming to take a mile as they drew farther into the building. There must have been something about Buffy, a look in her eye or a unnecessary hesitation in her step, because Gwen paused for just a moment to quietly ask, "Buffy, sweetheart, are you alright?"

It seemed that after Buffy's little personal meltdown the day before, Gwen was even more set into her determination to look after the younger woman. It was like Buffy had suddenly gained a big sister, and she wondered if this was how Dawn felt when Buffy had still been an active part of her life.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered just as quietly. "This place just... gives me the wiggins. It's making my spidey-senses all tingley."

The softest voices still carried in the still air and that comment made both Jack and Ianto stop and turn to look at Buffy.

"What does _that_ mean?" Jack asked. "In a practical sense. I get the pop culture reference." Buffy had a certain amount of extrasensory perception, it seemed, and ignoring anything she sensed would be foolish. Particularly in a situation like this.

Buffy looked up at them and had to stop from cursing. Of course they'd heard, and of course they'd stopped. But they were wasting precious time and once again it was her fault. "In a practical sense, it's nothing," she said dismissively with a shake of her head. "For me, it just means that the air in here tastes like death. Nothing to worry about."

She could almost feel ashes on her tongue, as if she'd just dusted a vamp and been a little too downwind of the aftermath. She hated when that happened.

"Are you sure it's nothing more than that?" Jack asked. "The vision was pretty spot-on."

"A lot of people died here," Ianto said softly, backing up Buffy's rationale. It made sense to him. The whole place had a pervasive chill running through it to him.

Jack looked up at him, on the stair above him, and nodded for him to continue up. He glanced back at Buffy for a brief moment before turning his attention back to following Ianto. Or, if he was honest, keeping just a _bit_ of an eye on Ianto

Buffy was _fairly_ sure there wasn't anything more to it than that, but Jack had a point, so she wasn't just going to dismiss it after all. There was too much at stake to not seriously take every slight hint as a possible problem. She hurried up the steps with the others, her attention divided between twelve different things and yet wholly focused on the people in front of her, the people she was supposed to protect. She would _not_ be messing up that part of her job. No way in hell.

They carefully made their way far up the tower, finally reaching the 44th floor. Ianto looked at Jack. "Some of them may be on this floor," he whispered, slightly out of breath. "Some on the floor above us." Jack glanced back at Buffy and Gwen before reaching a decision.

"We can't afford to take them one floor at a time," he said, whispering as well. "We can't risk whoever we've confronted warning whoever is upstairs. They could set off the Warp Star, among other things." Surprise was their only advantage. He looked at Gwen. "You and Buffy take this floor. We'll go up," he said, nodding towards Ianto. There was no other way to split up the group, because there was no way in _hell_ Jack was letting Ianto out of his sight in here.

Gwen and Buffy shared a look before simply nodding, accepting the decision without question. Jack knew what he was doing, and they had all seen how just being in this place was affecting poor Ianto. There wasn't anyone better to be with their beloved Coffee God than Jack Harkness at that moment, and the girls could take care of themselves.

Jack and Ianto watched Buffy and Gwen slip through the door into the hallways beyond before starting up the stairs. The door to the 45th floor was locked, but Ianto swiped his ID badge and it clicked open. They stepped into the hallway, glancing around carefully, guns held at the ready.

 

Buffy went first, checking each room they passed, listening as she moved silently through the halls. Had they not spent the past month working together, Gwen would have argued rather fiercely against the decision, but she'd _seen_ what Buffy could do and knew that it was the best decision to get the job done without losing anyone else. She didn't think their little team could take it if that happened...

Buffy was a good forty feet in front of Gwen when she held up her hand, freezing as she listened, and then signaled that there was someone in the room up ahead of them. Gwen checked her gun again before moving closer.

 

Each of them took one side of the hall, glancing in rooms as they passed. They were two-thirds of the way down the hall when Jack heard Ianto's breathing hitch. He turned. A man had a gun to the side of Ianto's head, just below his ear.

"Two fingers," he said, glaring daggers at Jack. "Take your gun and his. Put them on that table over there," he instructed, nodding towards a table in the hallway. "Then get inside this room." The man had dark shaggy hair and looked like he hadn't shaved in three days. He pulled Ianto into the office as soon as Jack took the gun from Ianto's hand.

Jack set the guns down where he was told and slowly stepped into the office.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," the man said, releasing his hold on Ianto, giving him a slight shove, sending him to stand next to Jack.

"I've been watching you since you walked through the front door," he said, nodding towards a laptop that was cycling surveillance footage from the various floors of the tower. "I've got the whole building wired with cameras." He reached over and tapped at the keyboard. Ianto's personnel file popped up on the screen. "I used what I could recover from the IT systems to hack into Torchwood Three's records."

Jack winced inwardly. That kind of invasion of their systems couldn't have happened if Tosh had still been alive. Jack had failed to replace her and now here they were, all because _he_ was a sentimental idiot.

"You in charge around here?" he asked with more confidence than he felt.

"What if I am?" the man countered.

"What's your name?" Jack asked.

"You don't give orders around here, Harkness," he man sneered. "This building doesn't belong to Torchwood anymore. All your dirty little secrets will come to light soon."

Ianto had simply been staring at the other man, but his soft voice penetrated the silence. "You used to work here," he observed. When he got past the scruff and the casual clothes, he vaguely recognized the face. This man was another of the 27 survivors.

"As did _you_ ," he replied. "Imagine my surprise getting into Torchwood Three's records and finding that you still worked for the Institute, after what happened here." He smirked. "I imagine you haven't stayed in touch with the other survivors, have you? Three of them killed themselved within a month of the battle. They just couldn't live with what they saw."

"And yet _you_ want to show it to _everyone_ ," Jack pointed out, his distaste for the idea clear.

 

Buffy was in full Slayer mode while they were sneaking toward the room, so it was with complete shock that she found a man on the other side, gun drawn and pointed directly at her. But the shock lasted all of three seconds before she moved, twisting her body away from the gun while throwing her hand up to knock the man's arm away. A bullet tore into the glass of a nearby window, drawing a cry of surprise from Gwen, who had just gotten to the door.

The man knew how to fight though, and was throwing a punch before Buffy could react. The force slammed her head to the side as she staggered downward, catching a glimpse of Gwen out of the corner of her eye, in a standoff with a guy who didn't have a gun. If it he didn't have a gun, then why-

The thought fell away from her as she swept her leg under the man, spinning as he went down and jumping to her feet. Her gun had been knocked aside at some point, she didn't know when, but so had his, and now she lunged at him, throwing her slight weight atop him to keep him to reaching one of the guns. It wasn't enough and another shot echoed in the room. Buffy very vaguely felt the pain in her shoulder as she landed a solid punch that left the man beneath her unconscious.

Seriously? If it was that easy, she shouldn't have gotten herself shot. That _hurt_.

 

Jack heard the faint sound of a gunshot echoing from somewhere else in the building. If he had to guess, he'd say the floor below them. He saw Ianto look at him from the corner of his eye, but he kept his gaze on the man pointing the gun at _them_.

"Sounds like your friends ran into my security contingent," the gunman told them.

"Too bad for your security contingent," Jack said breezily.

The man narrowed his eyes at Jack for a moment before going to the laptop and punching some buttons to bring the camera feeds back up again. He was flipping through them, trying to find the one he wanted - momentarily distracted. 

Jack began to step towards him, but he must have seen the movement out of the corner of his eye. It spooked him and he pulled the trigger, hitting Jack square in the chest. Jack dropped to the floor, gasping for a moment before going still. The gunmen stared at him, clearly unnerved by what he'd done. 

Ianto glanced around, grabbing a fire extinguisher off the floor. He sprayed the gunman in the eyes as the scruffy former Torchwood employee turned the gun towards the movement, then swiftly hit him square in the face with the butt of the extinguisher before wielding it like a baseball bat and swinging it hard against the side of the other man's head. The gunman dropped to the floor in a heap. Ianto kicked the gun away from his limp hand.

 

Wincing as she moved her arm in a way it apparently did not like, Buffy turned to Gwen, taking in the scene with a frown. The man had dropped something, was suddenly holding his hands up in surrender. Confident that Gwen had the situation under control, Buffy headed over and bent to pick up the fallen object...

And froze when she heard a gunshot from above them, and the faint sound of a body hitting the floor, her sensitive hearing just barely picking up the echo. "Gwen?" she asked, already moving for the door.

"Go!" the dark-haired woman ordered as she pulled a plastic tie out of her pocket. She'd follow once she got their 'friend' situated.

Buffy was a blur as she raced back to the stairwell, listening intently for the sound of any other funshots, anything that might signal what was going on with the rest of their team. The last time she'd gone up stairs this quickly, her sister had been at the top of a swaying tower. And just look at how that had ended.

Ianto brought a shaking hand to his mouth as he surveyed the bodies on the floor. The floor had been littered with bodies the _last_ time he'd been here. He stepped over them, _dragged_ Lisa over them, as they made their way out of the building. He'd almost forgotten that the fire extinguisher was still dangling from one hand until he heard someone coming. He lifted it momentarily, reflexively, though it would do little good against a gun.

Buffy crashed through the door with little of her usual grace, surveying the scene in a single glance before stopping when she spotted Ianto. Armed with a fire extinguisher, of all things, and shaking. It wouldn't have been noticeable if she hadn't been Buffy and he hadn't been Ianto, but she saw it as easily as she saw Jack on the ground with blood seeping into his shirt.

He was dead, she could feel it. But he wouldn't stay that way.

"Ianto, it's okay, it's just me," she said, her hands out and thankfully not covered in blood, since she had yet to try tending to her wound. She knew what it was like to be somewhere with such gruesome memories attached, knew that even the tiniest things could trigger those memories. She moved closer to him until she could gently set her hand on his arm. " _It's okay_ ," she repeated quietly.

He began to lower the fire extinguisher as soon as he saw who it was. When she touched his arm, it dropped from his hand and fell to the floor with a dull clank. He straightened his waistcoat self-consciously. "I hit him," he said, gesturing towards where the gunman lay right next to Jack. "I don't know if he's alive." He finally looked at her and frowned. "You're wounded," he pointed out. His eyes trailed down Buffy's arm to Jack on the floor. "He shot Jack." He was aware that what he was saying must have sounded disjointed to Buffy, but he couldn't make his mind stop racing for long enough to form a coherent train of thought.

She stepped in between Ianto and his line of sight to Jack, lifting both hands to frame his face, framing his world so he would see only what she wanted. "Ianto, look at me," she quietly commanded, remembering going through what he was at this very moment, remembering one too many battles in the never-ending war, remembering those first few hours of life when everything had hurt and nothing had made sense.

"Jack will be fine, you know that," she told him, laying out the facts before him. "I'll be fine too." She didn't address the problem of the other man; that was too big and too much for this moment. In this moment, the only one who mattered was Ianto. "Ianto, I know what happened to you here was _horrible_ , but it isn't happening again. Your friends are alright and you are _not_ alone this time."

He hadn't been, strictly speaking, _alone_ the first time. Was it possible she didn't _know_ about Lisa? Well, he could see how that would be the sort of thing Jack would be more reluctant to overshare about. 

He backed up from her touch, but nodded as he did so. He understood what she was saying - he even appreciated it - but there was too much _sensation_. He could practically feel Jack's presence on the floor, even when he couldn't see him, he could feel Lisa's mass as he carried her, weighed down by metal implements running through her body, Buffy's hands on his face... too much. 

He glanced around, trying not to do so wildly. "I think this was his base. He might have the Warp Star here," he said tightly, trying to keep his focus on the mission so they could get the fuck out of there. He glanced past Buffy at Jack on the floor. It had to be nearly time. Ianto always got anxious when it seemed like it had been too long.

Buffy knew he hadn't been alone before, but that was physically. Mentally, emotionally, he had been on his own, terrifyingly alone as he dragged the woman he loved from the pit of hell. But she didn't say that; he didn't need her pointing out things that would just bring about more pain.

She let him go, didn't try to stop him as he pulled away, because she understood that too. Days of hazy, blurred vision and too much of _everything_ , sound and touch and light... Oh, she knew all too well.

"I'll look around," she decided, figuring it shouldn't be too hard to find something so very powerful and important if it actually was there in the room with them. "You stay with Jack."

Ianto took his eyes from Jack to look at her when she spoke. She started moving around. He should be helping her. He shouldn't be standing there being bloody useless. He took a step forward, but jumped slightly, startled, as Jack gasped his first painful breath back into life.

Jack saw Buffy right away and pushed himself up, immediately, into a sitting position, casting his eyes quickly around the room, afraid of what he might find. He saw the unconscious or dead man on the floor beside him and then finally found what he was looking for: Ianto, alive, behind him. He turned around, standing up shakily. His legs were always weak when he first got back. 

"Are you okay?" he asked Ianto, but he didn't make a move to touch the other man or go to him at all, however much he might want to. They had their own tacit agreements about what was appropriate when and he hadn't determined if the situation warranted breaking them yet. Ianto, for his part, nodded his reply. He looked a little worse for wear, but he was coherent. Jack looked at Buffy. "Does anybody want to tell me what I missed?"

Buffy had just begun to rifle through the objects scattered on the desk beside the laptop when she heard that terrible gasp, the flood of air back into lungs, burning as it went. She turned and stared at Jack as he sat up and then stood, her eyes wide, a bit of horror etched into her expression. She knew what it was like to come back _once_ and he had to do it over and over again...

Hearing about it was one thing. Seeing it... most certainly another.

"Ianto took care of your guy," she said quietly, her voice a little more breathy than she would have liked. "Haven't checked him yet. Gwen should be here soon, she was just tying up loose ends downstairs."

Jack looked down at the terrorist. There was a bloody wound on the side of his head. He certainly hadn't been hit with a bullet. Jack crouched down and put two fingers to the man's neck. There was a pulse. He looked at Buffy. "Restrain him, in case he wakes up." He stood up and looked between them. "Do we know where the Warp Star is?"

"No," Ianto said quietly, finding his voice again. "But we were just going to look around this office," he explained, gesturing to the room around them. "It looks like it's his... command centre."

"Take the computer," Jack told him.

Ianto nodded and began unhooking the laptop.

Buffy was tying the man up with a plastic tie like Gwen had when the woman in question came into the room, directing the man from downstairs by keeping her gun on him. "Alright, boys, I think this one's ready to talk," she said with a glance at Jack and Ianto, her eyes only briefly catching at the bright red bloom on Jack's shirt. "He had this with him, as well." The former PC held up a small memory card.

Jack plucked the memory card from Gwen's fingers and handed it to Ianto without even looking at him. Ianto slipped it into his PDA, not trusting the ringleader's laptop.

Jack stepped towards the man Gwen had brought in with her. "What's your name?" he asked calmly.

Buffy couldn't help but notice the look of fear in the man's eyes. He was practically shaking. This clearly hadn't been what he'd signed up for.

"Jasper Smith," the man stuttered out, not hesitating for a single moment. "My brother worked here. I just wanted to make things right."

He was already trying to justify things. Frowning, Buffy glanced back at the mess of papers and folders. Something told her they wouldn't be finding the Warp Star, not here. Something had already been put in motion...

Jack narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing the nervous man up. "Is that so? Well, Jasper Smith, if you want to make things right you can tell me who this guy is," he said nodding to the man on the floor, "and what you've done with it."

Jasper's eyes danced between Jack's too-calm face and the bloody one of his boss. "His name's Michael," he started, swallowing heavily before continuing. "We didn't know his last name. He-"

Suddenly Buffy was clutching at her head, a broken scream tearing itself from her throat as she stumbled backward, tripping over her own feet to tumble into a table. It was like a bomb had been set off inside her skull, the images forcing themselves into her head, and she felt she knew _very_ well what Cordelia must have gone through all those years ago.

Jack turned to look at Buffy. "Buffy!" he called. He was beginning to recognize the symptoms of her visions.

Ianto was staring at her wide-eyed, the PDA held, forgotten, in his hand, until the man on the floor stirred slightly. "Jack..." Ianto started warily.

"What is it?" Jack asked Buffy, interrupting him. He turned his steely gaze back to Jasper. "What do you see?"

Gwen watched as Buffy struggled to form words, and then her teammate turned to them with wide eyes that shimmered with tears. They didn't fall, but Gwen could see a very real, physical pain reflected in Buffy's body language as the other woman carefully pulled herself to her feet.

"An old woman," Buffy choked out, "admiring a necklace.. with a very _pretty_ stone." Pressing a hand to her forehead, she quietly revealed, "It was the Queen. They're going after the Queen."

Jack was about to address Jasper again, though it was clear he was probably only hired muscle.

" _Jack_ ," Ianto said a little more forcefully.

Jack looked at him and he nodded towards the man on the floor, who'd opened his eyes and was looking around groggily, pulling against the restraints.

Jack reached down and grabbed the man they were told was called 'Michael' by the front of his shirt. Michael looked up at Jack with fear in his eyes. "But I... you're _dead_ ," he whispered almost reverently.

"I was, yeah," Jack informed him. "And I don't have a lot of patience for people who kill me." He hauled Michael to his feet and shoved him against the table where the laptop was sitting. "Warp Star, the Queen... enlighten me," he practically growled. 

Michael stared at him with a mix of fear and defiance, like he was still trying to decide whether to answer. "What _are_ you?" he finally spat in a whisper.

"I don't have time for this," Jack told him. "I'm going to ask you _nicely_ one more time." He hauled Michael away from the table and slammed him into the nearest wall. "What is your plan?"

Buffy carefully made her way over to the rest of the group, suddenly very glad for her quick healing abilities. Somehow she didn't think she'd very much enjoy having a headache vision from hell and a bleeding arm.

She doubled over again just as it seemed one of the men might actually talk, her breath coming in rasping gasps for the few moments it took for the knowledge to sink in. "It's happening _today_!" she shouted, not bothering to turn down the volume just because there wasn't a freight train in everyone else's heads too. "Whatever their plan is, it's going down today!"

She really had a bone to pick with the PTB over this one. Crazy Rift aliens? Sure. But she did _not_ need wiggy haywire visions too, damnit!

Jack glanced over his shoulder at Ianto. "Find out where the Queen is _right_ now."

Ianto grabbed Michael's laptop and started searching.

"JONES!" Michael screamed at him. "Why are you helping these people! You should be helping _us_! You _saw_ what they did!"

Ianto spared him a brief glance, then continued his work as Jack pulled Michael out into the hallway and shoved him roughly against another wall.

"He's a _traitor_ ," Michael spat at Jack.

"You're just lucky it was me you shot and not him, or we wouldn't be having such a polite conversation about it," Jack told him in a dangerous tone of voice. "Tell me your plan. _Where_ is the Warp Star? Do you even know how big the explosion will be? Or is it your plan to protest hundreds of deaths by killing millions of innocent civilians?"

"I want to _enlighten_ the civilians!" Michael hissed. "What do you _mean_ killing millions?" he asked, looking at Jack like he was crazy.

"That Warp Star could easily take out all of London," he said. "How many people live here? _You_ do the math."

 

Inside the office, Ianto worked frantically until he found the information Jack wanted. He looked up at Buffy. "She's in residence at Buckingham Palace this week. She's here in London." He glanced towards the office door, but was reluctant to interrupt when Jack had obviously taken the suspect outside for a reason.

Buffy felt very close to ripping out her own hair. This could not be happening. In the old days, seeing the Queen in her original vision would have just been another crazy nudge toward London; when the hell had those things started getting completely non-cryptic? Oh yeah, right about the time they started happening during the day and giving her those oh so lovely headaches.

Gwen shared a look with Buffy, silently asking for confirmation that Ianto's intel matched with what she'd just seen. Buffy nodded. "Right," Gwen said, "Ianto, finish analyzing that card. I'll call our contacts inside the Palace, let them know we're handling the situation and to report anything directly to us."

"Don't let the Queen accept any gifts today," Ianto reminded Gwen, picking up the PDA to continue flipping through the data. So far it had been pretty mundane aspects of the operation - contacts, members, operational costs - nothing that would help with the immediate problem, though it _would_ help to shut them down later. "No packages in or out would be better," he added. "Unless it's already in," he muttered under his breath.

Ianto turned to look at Buffy, to ask if she could tell how far the Warp Star had gotten, when he caught sight of the smear of blood left on the floor from Jack's rather untidy death. It took him a long moment to realize her was staring at it. He shook himself, backing away a few steps to lean on the wall, carefully studying the screen of his PDA. He'd been able to smell the faint odour of burnt flesh since he'd reentered the building and had told himself it was his imagination. He could ignore blood on the floor.

Gwen moved away from the group to make the call, the name _Torchwood_ getting them through the layers of resistance that would normally have accompanied an outside organization stepping on the locals' toes. This was the Palace, and Torchwood had been founded by Queen Victoria herself; if Torchwood said jump, the Crown demanded that everyone in the palace do just that.

Buffy took a few seconds to compose herself before moving closer to Ianto, watching him as he worked. "If I had to guess," she said to the Welshman quietly, "I'd bet a whole basket of kittens that it's already in there. Everything here has seemed... too finalized for them to just be hoping all the pieces would come together the way they wanted."

Ianto didn't look up from the device when he spoke. Looking at it was safe. "Not enough people here," he said. "Only the two of them. There'd be more if they were in the middle of setting something up. It's probably done already, like you said."

He flipped through a few more files. "What does that mean?" he asked quietly. "'Basket of kittens'? I've never heard anyone say that before."

It was a distraction that he desperately needed and she could easily provide. "My boyfriend says it," Buffy answered in a tone that matched his. "Demons don't bet with money when they play poker and stuff; they use kittens, because they like to eat them. So when you're really sure of something, you bet a whole basketful."

Ianto actually looked at her, then. "They _eat_ kittens?" he said. "Any particular reason they prefer kittens to, say, puppies or... bunnies?" he asked, but the question went unanswered as Jack reentered the room, dragging Michael with him. He tossed Michael onto the ground and walked over to Ianto. Michael squirmed up into a sitting position, looking daggers at Jack before shouting at Ianto again.

"You're a traitor! A _traitor!_ You _saw_ what they did! People need to _know_!" he cried.

Jack leveled a calm, even gaze at him. "Don't _make_ me come back over there."

Michael closed his mouth and settled for shooting petulant looks at the captain instead. Satisfied that Michael was through interrupting him, Jack turned his attention back to Ianto.

"He claims not to believe me that the bomb is capable of destroying pretty much _all_ of London," Jack said. "As such," he added, looking around at Gwen and Buffy, "he still refuses to tell me what he did with it." He looked at Ianto again. "Tell me you found something."

"Sorry," Ianto said. "No file marked 'Dastardly Plan 1'. So far it's just administrative stuff."

Jack nodded. "Alright. We'll have to go to the Palace and look for it ourselves." He turned to Gwen. "Call the Met and have them pick these two up and hold them for us." He stepped over and hauled Michael to his feet again. "We'll bring them downstairs. I don't want anyone else inside this building." He glanced at Ianto over his shoulder. "Don't forget the computer."

Ianto was already tucking it under his arm and Jack gave him a small, encouraging smile, then turned towards the door.

"If you think I'm just walking out there into jail, you've got another thing coming, mate," Michael informed Jack.

"What do you think your options are?" Jack scoffed. "Because from where I'm standing, you can walk down the stairs, or I can throw you down, and I really don't care which at this point. Considering you won't tell me anything, you're not much good to me alive, are you?" He pushed Michael towards the door.

Michael looked over his shoulder at where Ianto was following Jack at a short distance. "Do you see this?" Michael said. "Strong arm tactics, threats? Typical Torchwood! I hope you don't think it's any different now than it was then!"

"Considering I watched you shoot him in cold blood, while he was unarmed, I think he's being rather nice to you," Ianto said flatly, the first time he'd answered any accusation of Michael's directly.

"I'd probably have shot back," Gwen commented, her tone light and a little flippant as she urged Jasper into following the others out of the room. "In a much more painful place."

Smirking Buffy added, "Me too! Without the shooting, though, and more with the breaking of limbs and general pounding into goo. I'm good with the pounding, and striking fear into the hearts of demons everywhere." Perhaps she was a little too cheerful about that last statement, but the headache was fading quickly and, well, she _was_ proud of that fear strikage.

She gave a little shrug and then hurried forward past the others to address Jack. "There's still a guy downstairs, probably still out cold, with the way I hit him," she said. "I'll go grab him?" It was made to be a question; she'd spent too much time this week being reminded of who was in charge.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "And make sure he's restrained on the off-chance he _does_ wake up."

Jack lead them out into the hall and down to the stairwell. He sent Ianto in first, then Gwen and Jasper. Jack followed next with Michael, letting Buffy bring up the rear. They waited for her on the landing when she stopped at the 44th floor to collect the other prisoner.

Buffy hurried down the long hall to the room where they'd found the two men, opening the door without a moment's hesitation. It was the wrong thing to do, and she'd curse herself later for not taking the time to tie the guy up herself when Gwen would have been too preoccupied with the other one.

A fist collided with the side of her face, though the punch wasn't nearly as strong as it had been earlier, and she easily subdued the man, tying his arms behind his back and letting him know just how much of a bad idea it was to mess with her right now. Message received, the guy marched toward the stairwell without another protest.


	16. The Return to Canary Wharf - Part 2

Jack heard the commotion and nearly handed Michael off to Ianto so he could back Buffy up, but he hesitated because Ianto was obviously somewhat shaken from the whole experience and Michael had been giving him a hard time. It would also have meant letting Ianto out of his sight, and he'd already done that once by dying. Buffy soon emerged with the suspect, though, and they started down the stairs again, Ianto in the lead.

"I take it he woke up," Jack observed over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

Buffy wore an annoyed pout as she grumbled, "Yeah, yeah. Next time I'll hit harder." And tie the guy up, of course. But the hitting was the fun part. There was nothing like taking your frustrations out on a bad guy, even if the human ones were kinda wimpy.

They emerged from the front doors just as two police cars pulled up. Jack let Gwen deal with the officers, shoving Michael against one of the squad cars, then turning to Ianto, who was clutching Michael's laptop to his chest. He looked at his watch. "It's nearly ten," Jack said.

"It's about a half hour drive to Buckingham Palace from here," Ianto told him.

Jack nodded, trying not to be amazed by the sort if minutia Ianto seemed able to pull from thin air. " _If_ we can get through the traffic," Jack noted.

Ianto nodded.

Jack turned around to see if Buffy and Gwen were done handing the prisoners over to the police.

When Jack turned, Buffy was just yanking her troublemaker back as he tried to make a run for it, slamming him into the side of a car hard enough to visibly shake the vehicle. " _Seriously_?" she questioned the guy, who was looking at her with saucer-eyes. "You've just been handed your ass on a plate, _twice_ , and you're still gonna try running? Are there any marbles in that head of yours?"

Shaking her head in disgusted disbelief, it was just like dealing with the Trio all over again, she helped the police get the guy into a car, glad to see Gwen hadn't had the least bit of trouble with hers, before dusting off her hands and heading over to Jack.

When Buffy and Gwen joined them, Jack nodded towards the SUV and they all headed over. Jack climbed into the driver's seat while Ianto held the passenger door open for Gwen. He wanted to sit in the back with their equipment so he could plug Michael's laptop into their system and see if he could find any hidden or encrypted files. 

Once they were all in the vehicle, Jack peeled away from Canary Wharf at what was, very likely, an unsafe speed, determined to get to Buckingham Palace within a half hour at the very _most_.

Buffy sat in the back, leaning against the door and watching the scenery very quickly pass outside Ianto's window. Yes, she was watching out of his window and not her own. Why? Because it allowed her to covertly watch _him_ as well. It wasn't just her job to keep this little team safe; they were her friends now, and it was practically written into genetic code to protect her friends. She would do anything for them.

Ianto quickly hooked the laptop into the SUV's computer system, stopping to brace himself on the door with one arm when Jack took a corner particularly fast. 

"Maniac," he muttered under his breath, but his tone had the slightest hint of fondness in it. He started a search of the harddrive. Once it was underway, he looked up to see where they were. He glanced over at Buffy, who was looking past him, out his window. He pointed behind her, out hers. "Tower Bridge," he told her.

Buffy didn't move much, just craned her neck to glance out the window at the passing landmark. "Huh," she said, in a way that was reminiscent of the great wordsmith known as Oz, then turned back around. "Neat." And returned to watch Ianto and his window.

If Ianto thought Jack was a maniac, he should get in a car with _her_ at the wheel. Hmm... That had potential. Now she just had to figure out how to get Ianto drunk enough to actually get in the car.

Ianto checked the computer, but nothing had been found yet. He looked at Buffy. Maybe he was being paranoid, or defensive, but the Thames was out her window and random buildings were out his.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked suspiciously.

Buffy blinked once, then slid her eyes the tiny bit to meet his. Shrugging, she answered, "I've never been that great at playing Tourist." A grin bloomed. "Your look of Extreme Concentration is _much_ more interesting." Maybe there was a tiny bit of flirting suggestion in there, just to get his mind off _other things_ , but she'd never admit it.

Ianto just blinked at Buffy for a moment, then almost looked like he was going to say something, but caught Jack's eyes in the rearview mirror. He recognized the amusement in them.

"If you're going to drive like a madman, could you at _least_ watch where you're going?" Ianto requested.

Jack laughed and returned his eyes to the road. Ianto gave Buffy a look of suspicious confusion and pointedly went back to his computer.

Gwen glanced back at Buffy with a smirk before placing another phone call to the Palace, checking on matters and informing them that they were at present on their way. It was sort of nice, not being questioned and refused and generally given all sorts of trouble. Too bad it took the chance of all of London being destroyed for that to happen.

After they passed Trafalgar Square, it was a clean run up The Mall to the Palace. Two Palace guards were waiting at the front gates and opened them to allow the SUV entrance.

Ianto's quick preliminary search of the computer in the car on the way had revealed nothing. They were just getting out of the car, when he had a brainwave. He grabbed Jack by the arm. "I have a list of his _people_ , Jack. They'd never get anything in here without at least one inside man. I need a list of _all_ of the staff. Everyone working here for any reason. I can cross-reference it against Michael's records."

Jack looked at Gwen. "Get that for him," he told her. "You stay here and work on that," he said, pointing to the SUV.

Ianto didn't argue this time. He got in the SUV and unplugged the laptop so he could pop the memory card they'd gotten at Canary Wharf into Torchwood's system.

Jack glanced over at Gwen. She was talking to Palace security officials. He put his hand on Buffy's shoulder and took her aside.

Buffy had been waiting for her own set of instructions when suddenly Jack was there, and she frowned at him, glancing at the others briefly. "You have Serious Face," she pointed out quietly, crossing her arms and preparing herself for whatever was coming. This wasn't joke time, this was when Jack began preparing his plans, began figuring out how to save the world again, and what to do if he couldn't.

And she knew that she wasn't going to like it. Not one bit.

Jack glanced over at the SUV. Ianto was still inside and Gwen was still engrossed in conversation. "Your instructions," Jack told her, crossing his own arms. He wasn't happy about what he was going to say. He knew she'd argue with him. "If it gets to the point that it looks like we might not be able to stop this thing in time, you need to get Gwen and Ianto out of here," he told her. He held up a hand to stop her protest before it started. "If it comes to that, I'll give you the word and you take them and go. Get them out of the city. I'll stay here and try to finish the mission, if I can. If you do go and I manage to get my hands on the Warp Star in time, I'll call you back."

Buffy's eyes were blazing with a fury that he would just send them away, her especially, when they could help and they were a _team_ and...

The fires cooled as she remembered a time when she had been giving those exact orders to Xander. To get Dawn out of there, to keep her safe because she couldn't bear for anything to happen to her little sister and it was all she could do to protect her from the coming battle. Xander had tried to protest, but he'd given in and she'd been so very grateful.

Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the ground between them and nodded. "I'll get them out," she quietly agreed. "They won't like it, they'll probably even fight back. But I'll do it." She raised her eyes to meet his. "I'll keep them safe."

"That's your job," Jack told her. "Do what you have to. Cajole them, lie to them, knock them out and stuff them in the boot of the car. I don't care. Just get them _out_ if I tell you to. If we can't find the Warp Star, there's no point in you three dying like that. You're needed." 

He said it in a way to make it sound like the _Earth_ needed them. Last line of defense and all. The truth was, _Jack_ needed them. Losing Owen and Tosh had really driven that home.

He turned and walked back over to the SUV, ducking to look in at Ianto. "Anything?" he asked.

"Two names so far on both lists," Ianto reported. "One of them is one of the ex-IRA I told you about last night, so bombing is probably a bit of a specialty of his." He turned the screen slightly so Jack could see it. "Sean O'Malley."

Jack frowned. "I thought anyone working in the Palace was subject to a background check?"

"Michael had access to Torchwood systems. He could have made O'Malley's background be whatever he wanted it to be at the time."

"Is there a picture?"

Ianto tapped into government databases and pulled up a picture of Sean O'Malley. "I don't know how much he looks like this. It's from 3 years ago."

"Gwen! Buffy!" Jack called. "Find this guy," he told them, pointing at the screen. "Name's Sean O'Malley. He's been working here as a member of the catering staff, so start with the kitchens. Keep in touch on the comms." He looked at Ianto. "Tell me about the other one."

"The other one has been working in the livery," Ianto told him. "Training and exercising horses. His name's James Copeland."

"Guess we'll be checking out the stables," Jack said. "Let's go."

It didn't take long for Gwen and Buffy to locate people who knew the guy they were looking for. A few questions asked, the name passed around, and they were sent on what Buffy thought was a wild goose chase. No matter which direction people pointed them in, it always seemed the guy had just left or he'd been seen earlier or what, he wasn't stationed with them that day, maybe try this place.

It was frustrating, to say the least, but it at least told them they were on the right track.

Gwen updated Jack when they'd finished checking their fifth room, her irritation clear as she spoke to the dear Captain, and she was very close to suggesting they get the Palace Guard involved when suddenly there he was. Their guy, at the far end of the room.

"Buffy!" she hissed, heading for the man, trying to not look conspicuous. It didn't work. The guy took off and suddenly they were chasing their baddie through Buckingham Palace. 

Buffy wasn't sure the day could get any weirder.

Well, maybe if they started pulling a musical...

 

Jack and Ianto made their way to the livery and had just gotten Gwen's rather irked update when the stable manager told them he could take them to Copeland.

They found him just leaving one of the stables after returning the horse he'd been working with. Jack called his name and he turned around for a second, spotted them, then ran.

Ianto swore as he and Jack started after the suspect.

 

Buffy might have felt a little bad about the number of people getting plowed down as they chased the man through hallways and crowded rooms. It was only when the man stupidly headed outside into open area that they were able to catch him, each of them pulling out their guns (Gwen had returned Buffy's to her when they'd started out on this little duck hunt) and ordering the man to freeze.

"Where is it?" Buffy demanded, forcing the man to his knees without holding back her supersized strength. It did the trick, throwing the man off his game.

"Don't know what you're talking about!" O'Malley protested, his Irish accent thickening with his fear and anger at having been caught.

"The gift for the Queen," she reminded him none too gently. "Pretty little necklace, gonna make this whole place go boom. Ring any bells?"

And then he was laughing. The bad guy was... laughing. That was never a good sign. "You're too late!" he cackled, seeming to find real amusement in the situation. "It's already with her."

Well... _crap_. Gwen let Buffy know she was going to inform Jack, then turned and moved away so Buffy could continue getting them more... information.

 

Jack and Ianto were chasing the suspect across some gardens when Gwen's voice came over the comm. She was in the middle of reporting that the suspect had been apprehended and had told them that the 'gift' was already in the Queen's possession, when he heard Gwen _shout_ Buffy's name.

"What is it?" Jack said, coming to a stop. 

It took Ianto a moment to realize Jack had stopped his pursuit. He turned and looked to Jack for explanation. "The Warp Star is already with the Queen," Jack explained. "The Met can find him later. We know who he is." He turned and started stalking back towards the Palace itself, Ianto hurrying to catch up.

"Gwen!" Jack said into the comm. "Report!"

Buffy had looked away for a moment, just one moment, trying to put her gun away so she could have both hands for her little interrogation, and then there was the sharp sting of a needle being jabbed into her thigh. O'Malley scrambled out from under her as she toppled over to the stone ground, and she could hear Gwen's voice...

"O'Malley injected Buffy with something," Gwen said as she knelt beside Buffy, carefully pulling out the, thankfully, still half-full syringe. "I don't know what it is. But he's gone."

Jack and Ianto broke into a run. "Where are you, Gwen?" Jack shouted. "And why aren't you _chasing_ him?!" He glanced over at Ianto. "Go to the car and get the scanner and the antitoxin kit."

Ianto nodded, breaking off from Jack when their paths diverged.

"Gwen, I need to see the Queen. Make it happen."

 

Buffy nodded to Gwen, having been listening to the exchange, though it was slightly fuzzy in her head, and gave her hand a little push. "Go," she told the older woman. "I'll be fine." 

Gwen didn't need telling twice and was out of sight in seconds, trying to find their runner while contacting the Palace Guard and informing them of Jack's 'request'. It was only a matter of seconds before she was able to pass on the Queen's present location to Jack and how to get there.

Buffy struggled to push herself up into a seated position, imagining how many ways she could rip O'Malley's head off with her bare hands. How the _hell_ had he gotten hold of this? The memory of the last time she'd been injected with the organic compound was still as fresh as that day so many years ago, when her Watched, a man she'd trusted so explicitly, had poisoned her. Her eighteenth birthday, the Cruciamentum...

Her body felt a little numb, and she could feel that weakness spreading through her limbs, but it wasn't as bad as it had been back then. It had taken days to douse her system with the compound then, to ensure she was completely helpless, but this... She could probably still kick the crap out of that guy if she just managed to get the hang of moving again...

Ianto burst in on Buffy as she was struggling to get up.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" he asked, setting down the antitoxin kit beside her and pulling out the scanner. He opened the kit and got out a swab. "Open your mouth," he told her. He needed to take a sample of her saliva so he could get a reading on the toxin.

Buffy pushed Ianto's hand away and shook her head. The immediate shock of the situation and the flood of memories was ebbing away and it was much easier to focus and think. "Don't bother, I know what it is," she told him quietly, her tone bitter despite her best efforts. "Organic compound of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressers. I can't believe I remember that," she added quietly, almost sadly.

Ianto dropped to his knees beside her, frowning at her lack of cooperation. "I'm _supposed_ to take a sample, Buffy. That's how this thing works. Then it tells me the antidote. I'm not a doctor." He went suddenly silent after that last word. No, he wasn't a doctor. They didn't _have_ one of those anymore. He riffled through the antitoxin kit, not really knowing what he was looking for, but needing something somewhat useful to do with his hands because he'd had enough memories for one day.

Buffy reached over to set a hand on Ianto's, stilling his pointless searching. "Good thing, 'cause I don't need one," she told him softly. "Just help get me up? Once I get moving, I'll be okay. A little less Slayerish, but I should still be able to kick some ass if needed." 

He looked at her with a bit of confused disappointment. "Or we could take a sample and give you the antidote - which takes maybe 3 minutes, by the way - and you'd be full strength," he argued. "Why is that a bad plan?"

"It doesn't work like that," Buffy told him, that sadness in her voice again. "My body can process practically any poison in existence without it really effecting me, but _this_ stuff... It was designed to take Slayers down in the simplest way possible. There isn't anything you could give me, except maybe a nice big shot of adrenaline, that would counteract what it's already done to me, even if you do have all that fancy technology at your disposal. So let's just get back to the party, okay?"

 

When Jack approached the Queen's sitting room, he was escorted in by two Palace guards, but the monarch quickly dismissed them as she stood up to speak to Jack. Jack gave her a brief bow.

"Your Majesty, I need to know if you've been given a necklace in the past couple of days. Something with a particularly striking stone?"

The Queen thought it over, then slowly shook her head. "I haven't received anything remotely like that, Captain."

Jack had to stop himself from cursing outright in front of the Queen. O'Malley may have slipped it into the Queen's possessions without her knowledge.

He paged Gwen on the comms. "Gwen, tell me you have him. He won't detonate until he thinks he's far enough away." It wouldn't actually _be_ far enough away if Michael's opinion of the bomb was shared by his cohorts, but O'Malley would at _least_ want to be well off Palace grounds. If they could keep him there, they would have more time to search.

Gwen was dashing through halls and rooms and becoming very, very lost. "I've still got him in my sight, Jack!" she responded, her voice higher because of the physical exertion. It looked as if O'Malley didn't know where he was going anymore either, and she was _almost_ there.

The Queen had sat down daintily on the edge of her settee, but Jack was pacing restlessly in front of her. "Don't let him get away from the Palace. Call the guard and have him headed off if you have to."

Gwen rounded a corner into a room and found the guy frantically trying to open a window. A _window_. Because there was only one door in this small conference room. The click of her gun had the guy turning to stone, only very slowly to turn and look at Gwen with large eyes. And then he was grabbing for his pocket, there was something in his hand, and she was watching him fall, the sound of the gunshot bringing guards running. "I've got it, Jack," she told him, carefully picking up the small device. "And the guards have got him."

 

Ianto sighed his acquiescence and left the antitoxin kit on the floor, pulling Buffy to her feet as he stood. He tapped his comm device to ask Jack where he wanted them at that point, but Gwen came on, reporting that she had the Warp Star. Ianto looked at Buffy in mild surprise.

"Where are you, Gwen?" Jack asked. "I'm on my way."

The Queen got up to follow him. He might have advised her to stay where she was, but who was _he_ to be giving orders to _her_?

"We'll meet you there as well," Ianto added, refraining from mentioning that he hadn't exactly carried out Jack's orders to dose Buffy with antidote.

Buffy's first few steps were a little shaky, but, true to her word, the next ones were stable and she was able to hurry along beside Ianto. Her muscles tingled slightly, like when your foot went to sleep and then suddenly all the blood began to flow again. The more she moved, the easier it was to do so, but that feeling of weakness still cling to her, as if she'd just recovered from a fever. 

"Did you get the other guy?" she asked Ianto as they neared Gwen's location. She could see a large crowd of people who had gathered in the area to see what the commotion was all about.

"No," Ianto replied, a note of consternation lingering in his tone. He didn't like this, her running back into the thick of things with her strength diminished. "Jack said the police could pick him up later."

Jack appeared with the Queen right behind him and the din of the fray died down immediately.

"Where is it?" he said, without any preamble.

That... didn't sound very good to Buffy. The guy was still out there. For the group to have pulled off what they had, she doubted they'd have had a plan that could have been thwarted so easily. They weren't out of trouble just yet.

She and Ianto reached the room in time to see Gwen hand over the Warp Star to Jack. As Buffy drew closer, she frowned; that didn't really look like the thing in her dream...

Jack took the object from Gwen, confusion already clouding his features. "What is _this_?" he snapped. "This isn't a Warp Star." He looked at O'Malley. "Where is it?" he asked sternly. O'Malley didn't answer. Jack grabbed him and slammed him into the conference table. "Where _is_ it?" he demanded.

Ianto stared at the scene, his mind already racing through the possibilities. He looked at Gwen. "Didn't he say it was already with the Queen?"

"I've received nothing," the Queen pointed out.

"No, but you've hidden it somewhere, haven't you?" Jack said to O'Malley, still pressed into the conference table uncomfortably. He didn't answer. Jack drew his gun. "Okay, you have about three seconds to spit it out before I start taking kneecaps."

Buffy frowned, her eyes moving over the Queen's person before she turned, scanning the people standing around. It was with the Queen...

A man moved forward, dressed in a guard's uniform, and she very nearly dismissed it and moved on... but her eyes caught on his face. She _knew_ that face. Her mind had barely processed that it was their second man before she was moving, her weakened body propelling her forward at a much slower rate than she was used to, but still she made it, their bodies hitting the flood with thuds as she tackled him. The silence in the room was such that she heard the faint clicking of a stone hitting the floor, caught sight of a necklace scraping across the polished floor as it slid away from them. The man tried pushing her off, but a good jab to a pressure point in his shoulder had him staying right where he was.

Jack handed O'Malley off to Gwen with barely a glance at either of them. He stepped forward to look down at the suspect, pulling off his hat and grabbing him by the hair to look at his face, then dropped his head back onto the ground.

"Good catch," he said to Buffy. He frowned slightly when he saw _her_ face. She still looked somewhat pale. Maybe the antidote was taking a while to kick in.

Buffy struggled a little to get up, no extra energy there to help her, and she nearly lost her balance when she saw the Queen carefully bending to pick up the Warp Star, holding it by the attached chain, just as she had in the vision. Uhm... wow.

"Uh..." Words had completely escaped her as the Queen of bloody flippin' England looked down at her with an eyebrow raised in expectation. "Hi. Your, uh, Majesty." The guy on the ground started trying to get up again; she shifted her weight and dug a knee into his back without breaking her smile. "Nice day?"

The Queen gave Buffy a slight nod. "It's looking considerably better now," she agreed, before turning to Jack. She held the Warp Star out, letting it dangle from the chain. "I believe this would be safest in your care, Captain."

Jack took it carefully, tucking it into his pocket. "Thank you, ma'am."

"No, thank _you_ , Captain. And to Torchwood." She gave Gwen, Buffy and Ianto a brief nod, then turned and left the room.

 

Half an hour later, after finishing discussing things with the guards and making sure everything was going to be properly dealt with, Buffy allowed herself to sag against a wall while she waited by the SUV, the others taking their sweet time. All she wanted was to crawl into a bed and sleep. It felt as if a little something extra had been added to the compound developed by the old Council who knew how long ago, as if the recipe hadn't been quite right. It still unnerved her, knowing that it was still out there, that someone had access to it.

It felt like she was reliving a nightmare.

Jack walked over to Buffy, leaning against the wall next to her. Ianto was loading the antitoxin kit into the back of the SUV.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked. "Is the antidote not working properly? You look ill."

Buffy let her head roll to the side to look at Jack, her eyes betraying how tired she was. "There isn't an antidote for this," she told him, not feeling the need to hold back anything about it. "It was designed to take away a Slayer's strength. I didn't get a full dose, so it should wear off in a day or two, but until then you're down one Strong Girl."

Jack's expression became serious. "What?" he asked softly. "What were you doing in that boardroom if you were compromised?" he asked. He looked at Ianto. "You knew she hadn't taken anything for the poison and you let her just go back to her duties?" he asked incredulously.

Ianto didn't answer. He hadn't thought it a good idea at the time and he wasn't going to argue with Jack that it was. He just nodded.

Jack took a step towards him. "What were you thinking?" Jack said crossly.

Ianto shook his head slightly, looking down at Jack's boots.

Jack was really starting to piss Buffy off. She was beginning to feel guilty that poor Ianto was being given the third degree because of _her_ decision, and the anger was just fueling propensity for being stupid with authority figures.

"It was _my_ call, Jack, not Ianto's," she argued as Gwen arrived at the SUV, taking one look at the three of them before climbing inside where it was safe. "What did you want him to do, shoot me? I still had a _job_ to do, especially if we hadn't been able to find the Warp Star in time, and just because I'm not at full Slayer strength doesn't mean I was _compromised_." The word was spat out like it was a vile thing. If all she was to this team was a Slayer of aliens and stupid humans, then maybe there were a few things that warranted rethinking.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. "You can barely stand up right now, Buffy. What if that thug in there had put up some kind of a real fight?" he asked. " _I_ was under the impression that we'd already talked about how much getting yourself killed is not acceptable."

"She found the Warp Star," Ianto pointed out quietly.

"Get in the car," Jack told him without turning to look at him. Ianto knew very well how to pick his battles with Jack. He got in the car.

Buffy waited until Ianto had closed the door before she spoke again, her voice low and her eyes pleading with Jack despite her gaze still being tinged with anger. "If you want to be pissed at someone, take it out on _me_ , not Ianto," she said. "He doesn't deserve that today, not after everything he's been through."

She ran a hand over her face and then the anger was gone, replaced only by exhaustion. "I can barely stand up right now because I'm letting myself be that way. Even with all this crap in my system, I could have handled things if it had come to that. I fought off an insane _vampire_ ," she stressed, "in worse shape than I'm in right now. I know what this body can do, Jack, and I wouldn't put the team in danger by denying when I can't handle something."

"Buffy, I appreciate that you know what you can do, but I still have concerns about your propensity for self-sacrifice and the forecourt of Buckingham Palace probably isn't the best place for this conversation, but... well, here we are." He said, spreading his arms to indicate the area where they were standing. 

"See, you're supposed to protect the team, but you're also supposed to look after _yourself_. This whole Vampire Slayer thing is new to me, Buffy. Sometimes I can't tell whether you're being reckless in a situation like this. If one of them," he said, nodding towards the car, "came to work with their faculties depleted somehow - they'd been drugged or they were drunk - what would be _your_ initial reaction if they wanted to jump right into the first weevil hunt that came up? I should _hope_ it would be 'no fucking way'. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, we had to find the Warp Star, but no, that does not mean you put yourself in a disproportionate, unreasonable amount of danger. Now, maybe you didn't, like you say, but try to see how it looks from this side of the conversation and tell me you wouldn't be concerned about you in my place."

Buffy took a deep breath and nodded as she stepped away from the wall. "I get it," she told him softly. "I've been in that position and I understand. But contrary to my little meltdown last month about it, I'm not looking to _die_ anytime soon, and getting shot today," she indicated her arm that was already partially healed and adding to her exhaustion, "really kinda hurts." It still stung a bit, and was itchy as hell.

"Look, I'm still getting used to this whole being part of a team and not _in charge_ of it thing, as you know, but I do at least get _that_. I'm not the only one fighting this time, and I get that if I'm out for the count, I'll slow everyone down and just make things worse by sticking around in the middle of a fight." She shook her head and, sighing, said, "Have a little faith in me, Jack. Feeling like this again... It's the most terrifying thing I've faced in years. If I'd been too bad off to fight, I'd have curled up in the back of the car and hoped for the best."

"Okay," Jack conceded. "That's fair." 

He glanced at the car, then gave Buffy a bit of a smirk. "We used to squeeze three people in the back all the time, if you don't want to sit in the front with me either," he offered.

Buffy rolled her eyes and gave Jack an exasperated look. "Harkness, I don't care _where_ I sit, as long as I get to do it before I fall over," she informed him. "In case you missed the memo, healing a gunshot wound takes a lot out of a girl."

Jack chuckled and pulled open the passenger door for her, pushing it shut when she got settled in. He walked around and got in behind the steering wheel. He glanced in the rearview mirror. Ianto was sitting directly behind him. He turned to peek around the seat. Ianto was doing something with his PDA and it took him a second to realize Jack was looking at him. He met Jack's eyes for a moment, glanced around uncertainly, then looked at Jack again.

"What?" he asked quietly and a little self-consciously.

Jack just smiled slightly, then returned his attention to the wheel to take them back to the hotel.

 

Buffy tried her best to stay awake on the ride to the hotel, but it was long, and the motion of the car managed to lull her to sleep in a matter of minutes. It was a deep sleep, and it took Gwen more than a few tries to rouse her once they'd arrived at the hotel. 

The blonde blinked blearily at her teammate before the world focused and she remembered what was going on. It was with a very audible groan that she hauled herself out of the SUV.

Jack took Buffy by the arm as she dragged herself out of the car, steadying her as they walked back up to their rooms. "We're going to stay here tonight," Jack told them as they walked down the hall. "I know it's only about 3 o'clock, but I don't think any of us are really in the shape for a 3 hour drive on the motorway. We'll leave for Cardiff first thing in the morning."

Jack didn't let go of Buffy until he'd seen her into her own room and personally sat her down on her bed. "We'll get something in to eat in a bit," he told Gwen, knowing he didn't _have_ to tell the former policewoman to look after Buffy. Nurturing was Gwen's default setting.

When he walked across the hall to his own room, he noticed the bathroom door was shut and the shower was running. He hadn't really realized how much he'd wanted to see Ianto when he returned to the room; to look him over and touch him and ask him if he was okay. He wanted to _hold_ him, an instinct he'd been suppressing since he woke up from his most recent death and, with a flood of relief, found that Ianto was still alive. 

Jack felt like he'd been holding his breath all day and hadn't noticed until he started letting it out. He sat down on the end of the bed and looked down at his shirt. There was a hole just to the left of the centre of his chest that was soaked through and stiff with dried blood. He glanced over at the bathroom, then quickly unbuttoned it and shed it, dropping it onto the floor before pulling off the soiled t-shirt from underneath. He balled them up together and stuffed them down inside the rubbish bin beside the table, taking the paper bags and food wrappers from the previous night from below them and putting them on top. He didn't want Ianto to casually glance down and see Jack's bloody shirts. He pulled a clean t-shirt out of the drawer where Ianto had fastidiously unpacked them and pulled it over his head. He didn't bother with a button-down shirt. They weren't going anywhere. He untied and kicked off his boots, then laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the sound of the water in the shower.

 

After helping Buffy out of her ruined shirt and into a clean one Gwen had brought along, Gwen managed a good five minutes of mother-henning before Buffy was falling asleep sitting up. It was that nurturing instinct Jack had pointed out more than once that had Gwen cleaning up Buffy's healing wound and wrapping it in a bandage even though it looked as if it'd be just fine in a day or two. It was also what had her getting Buffy a soda and covering the girl with a blanket when she toppled over onto a pillow.

Gwen smiled at the sight before heading into the bathroom. She shut the door and sat on the edge of the tub to make her phone call to Rhys.

 

Jack sat up when the shower turned off. Ianto emerged from the bathroom wearing a short-sleeved cotton undershirt and loose-fitting cotton trousers. His hair was mussed from toweling it dry and he ran a hand through it almost self-consciously as he turned towards Jack.

"How's Buffy doing?" he asked.

"She'll be fine," Jack told him. "She's resilient."

"Sorry," Ianto said. "About that, I didn't..."

Jack stood up quickly. "No," he said, cutting Ianto's apology off. "Don't apologize. I overreacted." He reached out and ran fingers lightly along Ianto's cheek. "What about you?" he asked quietly. "How are you?"

Ianto's eyes moved involuntarily down to Jack's chest and Jack was very glad he'd thought to change his shirt.

"I'm fine," Ianto insisted softly. He looked up and seemed to think Jack didn't believe him. "Really. It's... not as bad as I thought it would be."

Jack let his hand trail from Ianto's face down to his shoulder. "Did you sleep at _all_ last night?" he asked with a bit of a smile.

Ianto shrugged. "Maybe a little."

Jack nodded, then gave in, stepping forward to wrap his arms around the other man. Ianto buried his face in Jack's shoulder for a moment and Jack set a kiss on his temple. 

"You did great today," Jack murmured before letting him go. He gestured towards the laptop. "Look, I was just going to find something we could order in before everyone passes out from low blood sugar," he said lightly, stepping towards the table.

Ianto frowned slightly. "I can do it, Jack."

Jack looked over at him, knowing better than to challenge Ianto when it came to carrying out his duties. He nodded. "Just find something that delivers," he told Ianto with a wave of his hand. "You don't need to be going out again. When it gets here, we'll take it over to the girls' room so Buffy doesn't have to get up."

Ianto nodded and sat down behind the computer to look up their dinner options.

 

Almost an hour had passed when Gwen finally emerged from the bathroom, having finished her conversation with Rhys and then taken a quick shower. It was the sound of the door opening that stirred Buffy, brought her up enough out of sleep to roll over and blink at the older woman who was toweling her hair.

"How're you feeling, sweetheart?" Gwen asked her with a smile, sitting on the edge of her own bed. She watched Buffy scrunch up her face as she thought about it, a hand rising to smooth out mussed blonde hair.

"Kinda... yech," was the answer. Buffy was beginning to realize that the man must have given her a bigger dose of weaker stuff than she'd experienced before, so the results were proving a little... different. She was more tired than anything, but nowhere as weak as she had been at eighteen. Perhaps age was on her side this time. Like vampires, it was becoming apparent that the older a Slayer was, the stronger she was as well.

Food for thought, at least.

Speaking of food... Buffy's stomach rumbled and she winced in embarrassment.

 

Ianto ended up ordering Chinese. If you ordered enough Chinese food, you could be pretty sure of having things that everyone liked. 

As soon as it arrived, Jack and Ianto walked across the hall with it, Ianto balancing one bag precariously on his arm to knock on the door. He grabbed it again before it fell off and Jack gave him an amused smile.

Gwen got up to answer the door, tossing her towel into the bathroom and suddenly glad she hadn't just worn a robe out, and let Jack and Ianto into the room. Buffy sat up immediately at the smell of food, her mouth practically watering when she caught a whiff of Chinese. There was nothing better than Chinese food after Slayer-ish business; it was like jelly donuts and research: inseparable.

"Hey there, Ianto," she said, smiling up at the man from her place on the bed. "Whatcha got there?" she asked with a suggestive wag of eyebrows, just to try for that amused smirk of his.

Ianto was suddenly somewhat self-conscious about being there in his pyjamas. He handed Buffy one of the bags. "See for yourself," he said with a small smile. "You can unpack that one, if you're feeling up to it."

"Ianto, I'm _always_ up for it when it comes to Chinese food," she informed him with a grin and a _you should have known that already_ tone. "I could be half dead and still be up to it!"

Her arm was a little too sore for any great, sweeping motions, but she could certainly handle unpacking a bag of delicious food. Looking up from her work, she smirked and said in a gently teasing tone, "Nice jammies, by the way. You should see my yummy sushi ones. In fact, I say we have a sleepover in the Hub and _everyone_ wears their embarrassing PJs. And no, Jack, that does not mean you can walk around naked," she informed the Captain with a pointed finger.

Gwen just chuckled as she unpacked a bag herself.

Ianto flushed slightly when Buffy brought up his pyjamas, looking down at them briefly before she made the naked comment about Jack. 

Jack gave her his most (and therefore _least_ ) innocent look before licking some sweet and sour sauce off of his finger. "I don't know what you mean by that," he declared naughtily.

Ianto took the opportunity to move to the far side of Jack from Buffy and unpack some of the food onto the table.

Buffy rolled her eyes at Jack and then threw a fortune cookie at him. It missed by a mile and she pouted. Extreme pouting, Willow would have said. But she couldn't help it, not really. Her good mood at the food was completely erased and replaced by a sullenness that could only have been caused by her present lack of Slayerness. She'd said it back then and she'd say it now: she couldn't _do_ normal.

Jack smirked. "I _told_ you the throwing knives were ill-advised," he said mildly to Ianto.

Ianto glanced over at Buffy with the amused smile she'd been looking for previously, but not, perhaps, in the context she'd been hoping for.

"At any rate," Jack continued conversationally, picking up some chopsticks and handing them to Ianto absently while he talked, "you said 'embarrassing PJs', so that automatically rules out my being naked."

Gwen had gotten her own chopsticks and opened a container to grab a piece of General Tso's chicken when Buffy picked up a pillow, covered her face with it, and shrieked quietly into the mass of fabric and stuffing. A few seconds later, the blonde pushed the pillow up and over so it fell behind her, then grabbed the containers of food and moved a bit closer to the group.

The actual moving was a little stiff, perhaps a bit too controlled by Gwen's estimation, like Buffy was trying not to move too recklessly.

Jack just laughed at Buffy's pillow antics, though his expression clouded slightly with concern when he saw how difficult she seemed to find it to move. He didn't say anything, though, as she seemed comfortable enough once she got settled. 

Jack pulled one chair out from the table and gave it to Ianto before getting the other one for himself. When they were all seated, they passed the containers around because they didn't have any plates.

"You all did _really_ good work today," Jack told them while they ate. "Tomorrow, when we get back to Cardiff - barring any potentially world-ending emergencies - I want everyone to take the rest of the day off."

"Sounds good to me!" Gwen agreed with a grin that was a bit too big for the situation. Buffy eyed her suspiciously as she nibbled on an egg roll, then had a complete lightbulb moment. Of course!

"I bet it does," she said to the Welsh woman, her tone much like Jack's would have been if _he_ were the one saying it. "Better tell Rhys to rearrange that schedule of his."

Gwen's mouth flopped open like a fish for a moment before a blush crept onto her cheeks.

"Maybe he can come home for lunch," Jack suggested suggestively.

"We should get back about then," Ianto added, deadpan.

Gwen looked at them all in embarrassed exasperation. "Alright now, stop it," she demanded with a hint of a smile.

Buffy grinned in response, absolutely giddy that Gwen was able to be so happy. She deserved every bit of it, as far as Buffy was concerned, and she would do everything she could to make sure the couple retained that happiness.

Jack laughed and popped some beansprouts from the chop suey into his mouth. "What are _you_ going to do with an afternoon off, Buffy?" he asked. "Besides sleep," he added with a wink. "That's the copout answer!"

Chewing a piece of garlic chicken, she considered the question, trying to come up with something that _wasn't_ sleep, because she really would have given that as her first answer. "Maybe go walk around the city," she offered up, pondering her real options in her current state. "Enjoy a bit of daylight for a change."

It wasn't unnoticed that both her long-term careers had had most of their action during nighttime hours. If she got to see a bit of sun once in a while without working, she tried her best to enjoy it.

"Daylight," Ianto said, as if trying out the word. He looked at Jack with a completely serious expression. "What's that?"

Jack shrugged and switched containers with him. He looked at Buffy. "You'll have to let us know what that's like."

She rolled her eyes and shared a _look_ with Gwen. Those two really were from the same pod, even if it was a couple dozen centuries apart. "You two could join me, ya know," she pointed out, gesturing to them with her chopsticks. "Get out and experience that foreign thing for yourself."

Jack put his container down on the table and leaned towards Buffy. "If we have a rare afternoon off, do you really think we're going to spend it _outside_?" he asked as though the answer were obvious. He paused, as something occurred to him and he turned to look at Ianto. "Though, what about that time...?"

"That doesn't count," Ianto said, interrupting him simply and immediately. He didn't even have to pause his chopsticks midflight as he punctuated his comment with a bite of chop suey.

Jack looked at Buffy and shrugged.

Buffy shrugged and switched containers with Gwen, as Jack and Ianto had done. Ooh, noodles!

"Pardon me for thinking you might _like_ a little time outside," she grumbled good-naturedly at them, though not without her usual dose of sarcasm. "You know, with actual people. I was shocked to discover that it really _is_ as fun as all those crazy people say!"

She shrugged again. "Oh well, if I catch a movie, at least your cuddling won't make me lose my popcorn," she said, looking on the bright side.

"Actual people are overrated," Jack told her brightly. "But we do catch movies sometimes."

"Contact with those 'actual people' tends to be minimal at the cinema," Ianto said dryly.

Buffy snickered quietly at Ianto's point, then set aside the container of noodles to turn a slightly pouty look on Jack, because there was no way it could work on Ianto.

"Oh, come on," she pushed gently. "You can't leave me all on my own. I'm the only one on this team without a Cardiff Cuddle Buddy! It's downright _lonely_ sometimes."

Jack smirked and started to turn towards Ianto, who stopped him sharply.

"If I _ever_ hear the words 'Cardiff Cuddle Buddy' come out of your mouth, you won't have one anymore."

Jack suppressed a giggle and looked at Buffy. She still had her pout on. He put up his hands. "Okay, okay. We'll think about it." He looked over at her container. "Pass me those noodles. I'll trade you beef and broccoli."

Success! The battle had been won.

Gwen was trying not to laugh as Buffy declared, "Deal!" with a big, innocent smile and handed over the container.

It was a good night.

 

After dinner, Jack and Ianto went back to their own room. It was still early in the evening, but they were exhausted. It didn't escape Jack's attention that Ianto, in particular, looked drawn and weary. When they went to bed, Ianto dropped off to sleep almost right away, his head resting on Jack's chest. He'd had nightmares that Jack was sure were connected to Canary Wharf as long as they'd been sleeping together, but they'd become less frequent and less severe over the past year. Not that night. Ianto woke violently in the middle of the night and it took Jack a moment to remind him where he was. He settled back into Jack's shoulder, still breathing a little heavily, and declined to talk about it.

 

Buffy didn't dream that night, for which she was extremely grateful. She was sick of dreams and visions, frankly, and she wasn't afraid who knew it. It she thought shouting it out to the entire world would get some sort of result on that front, she would do it without a second thought. But that would just result in looks mulling over her sanity and a sore throat, so she'd better now.

She woke before Gwen, mostly because she'd passed out again very shortly after Jack and Ianto had left the night before, and there reached a point where she simply could not sleep anymore. Remembering the little bakery down the street, Buffy pulled on a pair of clothes that Gwen had bought her the evening before on a quick run down the street after Buffy had gone to sleep, and smiled at the note Gwen had left for her before heading downstairs and along the street until she reached the little shop. A box of pastries and two teas and two coffees later, she was on her way back to the hotel.

It was the knock on the door that finally woke them. They hadn't set the alarm the previous night. Ianto, blinking blearily, started getting up to answer the knock, but Jack stopped him, getting up himself and pulling on his trousers. He glanced at the clock briefly as he walked over to the door.

"Morning," he said to Buffy as he pulled the door open. He looked over the items she had in her hand. " _Something_ smells good," he commented.

Buffy smiled at him brightly and held out the box with the two teas balanced carefully on top of it. "Gwen and I already had our pick, so you two enjoy the rest," she told him, glancing over her shoulder to see Gwen peak her head out the door and give Jack a little wave of her own breakfast before ducking back inside.

"We're braving the local coffee, but I got you guys tea, because I know what Caffeine Snobs you are," she teased playfully. She was still feeling the effects of the drug from the day before, but she could walk around a little more easily now. She just wouldn't exactly be up to tackling a Weevil for another day or two.

Jack chuckled. "It's a side effect of having a Coffee God," Jack explained.

"I can hear you," Ianto groaned from under the duvet.

"Thanks," Jack said, taking the box from her carefully to avoid spilling the teas. He glanced behind him at the lump of duvet that was Ianto. "I expect we'll be ready to go in about an hour," he told her.

"I'll let Gwen know," she said with a nod and a slight smile at the invisible Ianto's groan, then went back into her own room. She took a long drink of the coffee that really wasn't all that disgusting before addressing Gwen.

"Thanks again for the clothes," she said, indicating the jeans and shirt she was currently wearing. "Really appreciate it. The other ones are kind of... _well loved_."

Laughing, Gwen smiled and agreed. "I did happen to notice, yeah." 

There were a few more minutes of easy conversation between them before they began gathering up their things, the both of them eager to get out of London and back to Cardiff, of all places.

Ianto packed up the equipment and their belongings in what Jack was pretty sure must be record time and still managed to eat and get impeccably dressed before the hour was up.

"Do you want me to drive?" Ianto asked.

"No, you drove here. I'll drive back. That was the deal," he pointed out.

Ianto just nodded and continued gathering up the bags to take them down to the car.

Buffy and Gwen both showed up to help haul things down, and it felt odd to Buffy to only be carrying a few meager items. But, with the foreign chemicals coursing through her system, she was just as strong as she looked like she would be. Translation: not very. She couldn't help but be a little irked when Gwen managed to handle more than her, and she wanted to smack herself for it.

Ianto was the last to join them in the car, as he was signing them out of the hotel. He climbed into the front passenger seat without a word. With Jack behind the wheel in a decidedly less maniacal mood than he'd been in the day before, they departed for Cardiff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conclusions made from _The Return to Canary Wharf_ : We write too much, and you readers are very spoiled because of it. ❤


	17. Home Again

They dispersed almost as soon as they arrived at the Hub. Nobody even considered going down to the vaults to check on Hart. He could stew another day. Jack had promised them the rest of the day off.  Jack sent Buffy home to get a few more hours rest, then he went home with Ianto to do the same themselves. Around four in the afternoon, while the sun was still fairly high in the sky, though, Jack and Ianto met up with Buffy in the city centre.  It was the pout, not that Jack would admit it. And he had not tried out the term 'Cardiff Cuddle Buddy', either, because he was fairly certain that Ianto had been serious in his threat about it.   Jack grinned as Buffy approached. "Alright, you dragged us out here into the daylight. What would you like to do this evening?"  
Buffy had dressed well for the festivities. She wasn't ready for a night out on the town, per se, but her dark skinny jeans and silk blouse definitely gave off the right impression. She planned to enjoy herself, to try and forget for a few hours the feeling of weakness pervading her entire body, and these two delicious examples of the male of the species were going to help her achieve that goal.

"Well, since we're actually having good weather for once instead of getting drenched in .2 seconds, I thought we'd walk around for a bit, enjoy the scenery, then catch the 5:30 showing of that new uber-cheesy sci-fi movie," she suggested brightly, almost bouncing with excitement. "Just for some laughs. Or there's one of those haunted hell-demon movies on around the same time, if you're feeling more up for that. Then we could grab a drink before you two head off for more make-out time."

Jack grinned and took Ianto's hand as they started walking, their fingers easily and almost absently intertwining. "Sounds like a plan," he said. He glanced at Ianto. "Which cheesy movie would you prefer?"

Ianto gave Jack a bit of a smile. "I'll take the cheesy sci-fi option," he said. "I like sci-fi films. Sometimes they have nice aliens who don't want to eat everyone and destroy the planet."

"There _are_ actually aliens like that!" Jack protested.

"Well," Ianto retorted, "they never come here."

Buffy grinned at the exchange, walking beside the couple. They were good together, she could see it in the way they looked at each other, the ease that was around them, the tone of their voices as they spoke. It was something to be treasured, and, like with Gwen and Rhys, she was determined to keep it safe. She was of a firm mind that her friends deserved happiness, especially with all they gave to the world on a daily basis.

She wished Spike was there. A memory of him dashing into the Magic Box, complete with smoking blanket, brightened that smile even more.

"At least you get movies with nice aliens," she commented, hooking her thumbs through her side belt loops. "When was the last time you saw a movie with a nice vampire? And _Twilight_ does _not_ count," she immediately protested. "Sparkly vampires don't get put on the ballot."

"Interview With The Vampire," Ianto immediately offered.

"He's a bit of a film buff," Jack warned Buffy.

Ianto shrugged. "That wasn't even pub-quiz hard," he told them.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at Ianto in a silent challenge. "How about one that isn't _broody_?" she countered, knowing that automatically excluded Brad Pitt's rendition of undeadness. "Or way too big a fan of leather?" Her experience with both Angel and Spike had left rather large impressions on her movie-watching tastes.

She couldn't help it if everyone got it _wrong_.

Ianto thought that one over for a moment. "How can a vampire - who's compelled to eat people by his very nature - be both good _and_ not broody?" he asked. "It seems to me they'd have a hell of a case of cognitive dissonance."

Jack smiled at Ianto's response and looked over at Buffy, returning her Challenge Eyes.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "One day you'll meet my boyfriend," she said by way of an answer. "He's a little too attached to his leather coat, but he's all soully and not broody in the least. Says he wouldn't dare, it'd make him too much like my ex."

It still amused her to hear stories about when Spike and Angel had worked together in LA. The puppet one was especially hilarious.

Ianto glanced over at her, a slight mischievousness glinting in his eyes. "But don't they mostly not _have_ souls?" he asked. "Isn't that sort of... cheating?"

Buffy shrugged, not sure she was following things exactly, but not really caring. "The soul is pretty much the main reason for the brood, in my experience," she elaborated. "I've never met a vamp who brooded with the skill of my ex, because of the whole soul thing. Without one, most vamps just don't really give a damn."

Ianto smirked. "Are you trying to say that Anne Rice is full of shit?" he asked bluntly.

"You can just come out and say it," Jack assured her, suppressing a smile himself. "We don't stand on ceremony around here."

Buffy snorted. "Anne Rice _is_ full of shit," she said just as bluntly. "Vamps that old do not retain that sort of fashion sense."

Jack laughed at Buffy's observation.

"We're definitely going to the alien film," Ianto deadpanned.

Jack smirked and looked at Buffy. "I guess you've settled that question pretty definitively. Though I'm sure I don't know what you mean about the centuries-old and their fashion sense..."

Buffy just gave Jack a once-over, followed by a very _pointed_ look. "Uh-huh," she said with a raised eyebrow. "Says the man who stepped out of the '40s."

Though it _did_ look good on him. But no one would ever catch her telling him that.

Ianto ran his eyes over Jack as well. "I like it," he said simply.

Jack grinned and gave Buffy a 'See?' sort of a look.

The city centre was a dense web of narrow streets and tightly packed rows of businesses. The cinema was near the Stadium.

"Have you ever seen a rugby match?" Ianto asked Buffy as they passed the Millenium Stadium.

Buffy raised both eyebrows to look at Ianto with wide eyes. "A who what?" she provided as an answer, clearly illustrating that no, she didn't know a single thing about rugby.

A quick grin and she was elaborating. "Despite having been a cheerleader for most of my pre-Slayer days, sports and me are non-mixy. Too many rules, not enough bare skin." She held up a hand to stave off any protests. "And swimming sports don't count anymore," she said quickly, "after my high school team turned into fish-boys and ate the coach."

"I hate when that happens," Jack quipped. He cocked his head at her. "What about wrestling?" he asked. "Wrestling involves a lot of near-nudity and sweatiness."

Buffy made her drinking hard liquor face and shook her head. "Big bulging muscles and stupid costumes? So not my thing," she stated, as if the words had Final Decision stamped all over them. "Besides, half those guys are just demons wearing people masks." She paused, giving both of her companions a steady look. "Yeah, think about that a bit."

Jack smirked. "That's... kinda hot," he commented.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Don't tell him things like that," he advised Buffy. "It only encourages him."

"Maybe it'll deflate that happy bubble to know that the masks are real," she commented to the younger man who was clearly the best dressed of the three. "As in, actual people skin."

Ianto gave her a pained look. "That's disgusting," he commented.

"Do they make those with magic?" Jack asked conversationally. "Or do they have, like, a demonic people-skin tanner who specializes in that kind of work?"

Ianto looked at Jack like he just suggested a three-way with a cactus.

Buffy gave a nod to agree with Ianto, then shrugged at Jack. "Used to be extremely disgusting and very illegal," she said, just as conversationally. "We had a big contract-signy powwow two years ago, though, so things are more regulated now and a little _less_ illegal. Helped that some of the girls are big fans," though she had no idea why, "and the demons are really just in it for the glam and money."

"Okay," Jack said. "What about gymnastics?"

Ianto sighed. "You've got him going now."

Jack grinned. "Well, I wanted _you_ to get me 'going', but she made us come outside."

Buffy leaned in closer to Ianto and asked in a theatrical whisper, "How do you put up with him?"

Giggling quietly, she informed Jack, "Again with the weird muscles. Besides, it's not much fun watching people when you know you can do it better without even really trying."

"Have you _looked_ at him?" Ianto asked her, as though the answer to her question was obvious.

Jack laughed and looked at Buffy as she shot down yet another of his favourite Olympic sports. "You know what? You take all the fun out of nudity," he told her poutily.

She just stuck her tongue out at him. And gave Ianto a little shake of her head. Consorting with the enemy... It didn't matter how yummy Jack was!

Jack looked at Ianto, a perfectly serious expression on his face. "Remind me to put the fun back into nudity later," he said.

"Will do," Ianto replied in the same business-like tone.

Putting a hand to her forehead, Buffy muttered, "I am _so_ gonna need a drink after this."

Jack just gave Buffy a cheeky grin as they came to the cinema. Ianto let go of his hand to go to the booth and buy the tickets.

"So?" he asked. "What's your cinema concessions vice?" he asked. "Popcorn? Chocolate? Ice cream?"

"Definitely popcorn," she said with a firm nod. "There's never enough chocolate, ice cream melts too fast, and whenever I get nachos I run out of chips before cheese. With popcorn, if you pace yourself you can make it last the entire movie." To say she had the movie-going experience down to an art form was... not an exaggeration.

"Sweet or salty?" he asked. The last time he'd been to America, they'd only offered one kind. 

Ianto approached with the tickets and Jack looked over at him and smiled before looking back to Buffy for her answer.

"Salty, of course," Buffy replied as if that was a no-brainer. "It's classic! You can't sit in a theater with sweet popcorn; you have to be compelled to spend even _more_ money to buy another drink." She paused, took in the way he was looking at her, and said, "What? I didn't make the rules."

Ianto smirked and went to the counter to order. Her diet coke was also a 'no-brainer'. He didn't have to ask.

Buffy grinned when she heard him order, and graciously waited until he'd finished handing over money to call out, "I LOVE IANTO JONES!" And then smile like a completely in love ditz. She just couldn't help herself sometimes. It was too much fun trying to see which buttons she could push without doing any real damage.

Ianto flushed a little and stepped away, ostensibly to get them straws, but mostly to avoid the curious stares of onlookers.

Jack only raised an eyebrow at Buffy's statement. "Careful," he joked. "Remember the one thing I told you that could get you fired."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Please, I'd take Spike over Ianto any day," she said, though not in an unkind way. A bit of mischief crept into her smile as she asked Jack, "Have _you_ ever had sex with a vampire?" She doubted the answer was going to bed yes, unless it was some weird alien vampire. Most vamps didn't really go for humans being anything but Happy Meals on legs.

"No, I'll give you that one," Jack told her. "That's one non-human species to... wait a sec, I have to count them," he told her with a wink.

Buffy pouted in mock frustration and tugged on Ianto's sleeve once he was within reach. "Iantooooo, save me!" she whined playfully, like a little kid looking up to an older sibling, never mind the technicalities. "Take him back, I don't want him anymore!"

Ianto gave her a look that was completely unmoved by her pouting routine.

"That's asking an awful lot," he told her seriously.

"Hey," Jack said with mock-affront, "I was over here defending your honour!"

Buffy narrowed her eyes and made a "Hmph!" noise. "Fine," she said with completely false annoyance. "Next time _you_ need saving, I'm just gonna leave you to the Jack-shaped wolf."

"That's pretty much my lot in life," Ianto told her, handing her a straw.

Jack gave him a swift swat on the backside in response, before taking a straw from his hand. 

"I'd say that next time I'll leave your honour to its own devices," he declared, pointing the straw at Ianto, "but _that's_ not going to happen."

"My honour was just _fine_ on its own until you came along and you've certainly done the most to compromise it," Ianto pointed out.

"Yeah? Well that's different and I just don't like sharing."

Buffy slid the straw into the lid of her drink while rolling her eyes. "Gag me with a spoon," she mumbled before turning and heading to their screen.

"I'm sure we can get our hands on a spoon," Jack offered.

"I expect they'll have them at the ice cream counter," Ianto pointed out.

"Are you sorry you invited us yet?" Jack asked with a cheeky grin.

Buffy's expression said she _clearly_ thought the very idea was just crazy. "Please, you two are _tame_ compared to living with a couple dozen teenage girls."

"A 'no' would have sufficed," Jack told her.

"'Tame' is a bit harsh," Ianto chimed in.

They reached their screen and walked into the darkened theatre. Jack looked over at Buffy. "Where do you prefer to sit?"

"Follow me, boys!" she said with a burst of excitement before practically bouncing her way along the steps until they were three-quarters of the way up. Luckily, it was an odd time for people to be at the movies, so they had their pick of seats, and the ones smack dab in the middle were open. She flopped into one and immediately curled up in it, getting perfectly comfortable.

Jack took the seat in the middle, between Buffy and Ianto, and settled in. He put his popcorn between his knees so he could rest his free hand on Ianto's leg. He noticed Ianto turning off the ringer on his phone, but he also put it in his hip pocket so that, if it vibrated, he'd definitely feel it. If Torchwood had an emergency, they still had to be available.

Apparently the movie was supposed to be on the frightening side, but Buffy just found herself giggling at all the 'scary' moments, once very nearly spilling her drink all over herself. It turned out to be a very good thing there were few other people in the room.

When the film finished and they were walking out of the theater, Buffy was still trying to recover from her giggles over the big showdown at the end. "Okay, that was good," she commented after a deep breath. "I needed that laughter therapy."

" _I_ was a bit disappointed," Ianto told them. 

Jack looked at him quizzically. It was a brainless Hollywood alien thriller, it wasn't meant to be high art.

"No friendly aliens," Ianto pointed out. "What's the point of science fiction if it's just like going to work?" He frowned. "And didn't we chase one of those ones with the thing on its head around half of Cardiff last year?"

Jack laughed. "No!" he protested. He looked at Buffy. "It was _completely_ different," he said. "The one we were chasing had webbed feet. It almost escaped into the Bay."

Ianto gave Jack a skeptical look. "Okay, so they only had a rough description to work with. They probably saw it on YouTube before we got in to erase it."

Giving Ianto a sympathetic look, Buffy patted his shoulder. "Next time, I'll check to make sure there are friendly aliens," she assured him. "But, until then... It's bar time!"

And then she was grabbing Ianto's hand and pulling him along, knowing Jack would follow without protest.

Jack followed Buffy and the slightly less enthusiastic Ianto with an amused look on his face. "You _say_ you're not trying to steal my boyfriend," Jack called to Buffy, "but first you're protesting your love in public and now you're holding his hand. I don't know what to think!" he joked.

Ianto looked over his shoulder at Jack with a silent plea for help and Jack couldn't tell if it was serious or not, but figured, either way, he'd be fine in Buffy's hands, regardless of whether he actually believed it. Jack just smiled back at him. Ianto's 'you'll pay for this' look replaced his 'help me!' look and Jack smiled more broadly.

Buffy didn't pay any attention to the exchange between Jack and Ianto; she was too concentrated on getting them to the nearest, most reputable-looking bar so they could get their drink on. It amused her to think of those days back in college (quite a while ago) when her mantra had been "Beer's bad." Well, granted, she hadn't touched beer in years, but did enjoy a bit of alcohol every now and then.

Finally stopping in front of one of the bars, she let go of poor Ianto and turned to them, inquiring, "What do you think?"

"The rugby match is on," Ianto commented, pointing to a sign in the window before heading inside.

Jack chuckled. "Guess you'll get to see some rugby, after all," he said, gesturing for her to go in ahead of him.

Ianto found them a table in the corner that was far enough off to the side that they could easily talk... but he could also see one of the televisions showing the game.

"Have we been in here before?" Jack asked, sitting down at the table.

Ianto shook his head, then looked at Buffy. "What would you like today?"

"Rum and coke, please," she answered immediately, almost bouncing with the excitement of the evening. "Usually I like those fruity drinks that don't pack much of a punch, but today we're going with a different theme."

She glanced at the screen, watching the game for all of thirty seconds before scanning the crowd, most of whom were completely enraptured with it. Yet another reason why she deserved an extra treat.

Ianto went to the bar and Jack noticed Buffy's expression as she looked over the other patrons in the place. 

"Every bar in Cardiff probably looks like this tonight," he said. "It's a big match against England." He put up his hands before she could speak. "And don't ask me to explain the appeal of rugby. It's the Welsh. I think they're genetically predisposed to liking it."

Jack looked up a little lasciviously as Ianto returned and sat down beside him with the drinks. "I just like the Welsh," he said playfully.

Ianto raised an eyebrow at him, then handed Buffy her rum and coke before setting one of the pints of lager in front of Jack. "Are you talking about rugby?" he asked. He looked at Buffy. "Jack only likes the scrums."

"I imagine a lot of inappropriate touching goes on in there," Jack commented.

"'Imagine' is the right word," Ianto told him.

Buffy took a good long sip of her drink before shaking her head at Jack. "We just can't take you anywhere, can we?" Turning her attention to Ianto, she said, "I can see why you don't go out much."

It was all in good fun though, and she quickly grinned to show it. She liked these two, even their tendency to be maddeningly frustrating about the oddest things. It kept life... interesting. And since she was used to the Chinese definition of the word, it kept her days feeling normal.

A cheer erupted from pretty much every person in the bar and Buffy turned to look at them all in confusion. She did _not_ get it.

Ianto looked over Buffy's shoulder to the television in time to catch the replay and smiled slightly before turning his attention back to their table. He'd barely done so, when Jack leaned in and kissed him intently for a long moment. 

Jack looked at Buffy afterwards. "It's hard work competing with professional sports, but I feel equal to the task," he assured her.

Ianto had flushed slightly and shook his head at Jack, but he was smiling.

The crowd watching the match erupted into another cheer, but when Ianto looked past Buffy's shoulder, he could no longer see the game. A large man with a pint of beer in his hand was standing a little behind Buffy and was sneering at them.

"What do we have _here_?" he said. A couple of men at a nearby table were paying attention to the proceedings and were clearly with the one that had come over. He glanced back at them with a smirk.

"This is what we call a 'private conversation'," Jack explained in a polite but stern tone. "If you don't mind."

This seemed to amuse the stranger, who made a show of looking them over. "Well maybe I feel like standing here," he said. "You have a problem with that?"

"Actually, I can't see the telly," Ianto told him flatly.

The man narrowed his eyes at Ianto as he whipped his pint at him. It hit the wall close to Ianto's head as he ducked away from it and it shattered, spraying him with beer and glass. The man lost interest in Jack and Ianto at the point and turned what he appeared to think was his full charm on Buffy. "What's a lovely girl like you doing here with a couple of fairies?" he asked. "Why don't you come sit with some _real_ men," he suggested. Some shouts of encouragement were directed at Buffy from his table.

If Buffy had been at her full strength, that neanderthal of a man _and_ all his goon friends would have been flat on the floor for the stunt they'd just pulled. As it was, she was very likely to get her ass handed to her if she tried going up against the beefy idiot.

So it was Plan B then. She did Plan B very well.

"Real men?" she repeated as she stood, giving the stranger a thorough once over. Her hands were on her hips and her voice was full of womanly charm; suddenly she was glad she'd thought to style her hair and put on a little extra makeup for the evening. It was going to make it that much sweeter. "I don't think so. See, I _have_ some real men right here," she said as she took Ianto's hand and tugged him to his feet, carefully brushing the bits of glass off his now wet shirt, "and, since you _obviously_ hadn't noticed, we were on a _date_."

This was enough to give the brute pause for a moment. "I _noticed_ the two poofs you're sitting with snogging at your table," he told her.

Ianto frowned at that, but Jack joined in with Buffy's ruse before he could say anything.

"Yeah?" Jack said with a smirk. "Good observation. Like the lady said: we're on a date."

The man gave them a nasty look. "All _three_ of you?" he spat, looking like he didn't quite believe them.

"Hey," Jack told him with a nonchalant shrug, "don't knock it 'til you've tried it."

Buffy reached over to pull Jack up too, her hand taking his as she lifted her other to smooth her fingers over Ianto's hair. "Poor thing," she said in that cooey, lovey-dovey voice she _hated_ with most people, but it got the desired effect. "This was definitely not what I had _planned_ for tonight." And then, as if trying to illustrate just what that plan had been, she leaned in to kiss Ianto, a light kiss that she hoped wouldn't freak him out.

It lasted only a moment before she turned her attention to Jack, noticing the slack-jawed expression of the imbecile behind her. Smiling slightly, she pulled Jack closer by hooking a finger around his belt loop, giving him a kiss as well, a much more _thorough_ one than she'd given Ianto, because Jack was less likely to be bothered by the show. Pulling back, she told him, again using that disgustingly sweet voice, "You know, if I wasn't in such a _good mood_ ," a full set of suggestions was packed into those two words, "I'd probably ask you to beat the crap out of that guy. Right now, though, I think we need to get Ianto home and into the shower."

She emphasized that point by wrapping a hand around Ianto's tie and sliding her fingers down the smooth, if damp, silk. The gasps from the table of idiots was extremely satisfying.

Ianto still glanced at the men warily, but followed Buffy and Jack out of the bar. "Night boys," Jack said, running a finger across the thug's chest as they passed. "I'd invite you to join us," he said suggestively, "but our shower's not that big." He gave them a wink for good measure on the way out the door and a wave as they walked past the window.

Once they were around the corner, Jack immediately turned to Ianto. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern clouding his expression.

"Yes," Ianto said a little testily, seeming unsure of why Jack was asking. He could take a little verbal abuse.

"You aren't cut?" Jack clarified, already reaching up to look for himself.

Ianto's tone softened. "No... I don't think so," he said.

Jack plucked a wayward piece of glass out of a crease in Ianto's collar. "Okay," he said gently, satisfied Ianto wasn't bleeding, and dropped the glass on the ground. He turned to Buffy. "That was quick thinking in there," he told her. "Good job."

Buffy just shrugged like it was no big deal. Because really, it wasn't. "I couldn't kick his ass, so I did the next best thing," she said nonchalantly. "Besides, I have to look after my boys, right?" Not to mention that Jack actually was a pretty good kisser. Not as good as Spike, but... Well, not everyone could be that perfect.

"You two should catch a cab or something, head home," she said, suddenly changing the subject. "If _that's_ what all the bars in Cardiff are gonna be like tonight, you're better off cuddling on a couch."

"Why don't you come with us?" Jack asked. "Have a drink. You didn't get to finish yours." He glanced at Ianto. "We can go to your flat, so you can change," he suggested.

Ianto nodded and looked to Buffy to accept Jack's invitation.

Buffy opened her mouth to accept, but then she paused, really thinking it over, and then shook her head. "No," she said quietly, hooking her thumbs through her belt loops again. "Thanks, but after that... I kinda just wanna go home and call Spike. It's been a few days, and, well, that was the straw that broke the Fyarl's back, you know?" She gave them both a smile to show that she really did appreciate the offer.

Jack nodded. Normally, he'd make some joke about the correlation between kissing him and wanting to call her boyfriend, but he wasn't feeling it. It was dark now and it had gotten cooler out. Ianto was soaked and probably starting to feel the chill. Jack was _certain_ the slight snappishness in Ianto's tone after the bar incident was a reaction to what he perceived as Jack trying to 'mollycoddle' him again, and he'd made his feelings on _that_ clear enough when they were preparing to enter Canary Wharf... and they'd only been in _there_ the previous day. 

A relaxing evening was probably just what the doctor would have ordered (if they'd had one) and it had started out that way, but at that point... Buffy was right. They should just call it a night. Even Jack didn't need the stress of the incident in the bar, so he was pretty sure Ianto would have been much better off without it.

"Okay," Jack told her with a smile as he took Ianto's hand. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Buffy gave Jack a grin and a little salute. Turning her gaze to Ianto, her smile softened and she quietly said, "Sorry 'bout the kiss." And then she turned and headed the opposite way of where they'd be going. It was a bit of a scenic route, but she wasn't in any hurry. It was getting cold and dark and it... reminded her of home. A home that was long gone and sorely missed.

Ianto watched her go a few steps before speaking. "It wasn't _that_ bad!" he called after her, giving her a little smile. He wanted to make sure she knew that there weren't just 'no hard feelings', but he appreciated her efforts to resolve the problem without anyone getting a meaty, drunken fist in the face.

They walked back to Ianto's flat. Jack put the end of the rugby on the TV while Ianto took a quick shower to wash the beer out of his hair.

Ianto emerged to find that Wales had won the match. He and Jack curled up on the couch and watched an old movie on Sky.

Buffy called Spike the moment she got home. The conversation lasted for hours.


	18. Interlude: Heartache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For what you are about to go through... We are so sorry.

Buffy was having a good day. Despite the incident at the bar the night before, she'd managed to have a lovely evening with her teammates, and then an even lovelier one with her boyfriend. Sometimes a long-distance relationship was too difficult for the couple to cope with, but they did just fine; maybe it was their long history together, the surety they held in each others affections, or maybe it was the great phone sex. She didn't know, and as long as things stayed as wonderful as they currently were, she had no problem with the not knowing.

Even the rain didn't dampen her spirits, though she couldn't say the same for her coat. She hurried into the Hub, eagerly hanging up the dripping article, and gave Ianto a little wave. He was always there before everyone else. Well, except Jack, of course. "Morning!"

Ianto looked up from the coffee machine. "Morning," he said. He topped off her drink with some chocolate sprinkles, then brought it over to her desk and set it down. "You got home alright?" he asked. He hadn't really liked the idea of letting her walk home on her own without her super-strength, but she'd been pretty firm in her decision and he hadn't had the energy to argue with her by then.

Buffy grinned at him and said, "Yes, Sir Coffee God, I got home just fine." She breathed in the sweet smell of the coffee, letting it deeply penetrate her senses, and just sighed. "You spoil us way too much, Ianto," she told him in a gently teasing tone. "One might think you actually _liked_ us sometimes." And oh was that coffee delicious. It really rounded off that good morning feeling.

"I'm just being polite," he told her with a straight face. "It's a British thing." 

He pulled a phone out of his pocket and handed it to her once she'd put the coffee safely back down on the desk. "Your new mobile," he told her. "Try to make it last a _little_ bit longer than the last one. Maybe keep it well out of your sister's reach," he suggested with a bit of a smirk. "It's the same phone number, by the way, and your contact list has already been recovered from the remains of your late previous phone, so you shouldn't have to adapt beyond resisting the urge to destroy it with your bare hands."

Buffy sheepishly smiled as she took the phone. "No Dawn touching the phone," she summarized. "Got it." She was more than grateful for the lack of anger on his part over her destroying the last one. It just... hadn't been a good day, and she hadn't been able to help herself. She was definitely not letting _any_ of the Scoobies near this one.

"Uhm," she said hesitantly, looking down at the illuminated screen. "Envelope means.... Text message!" It was an exclamation of triumph as she opened the message. "Seems the aforementioned sister has been trying to reach me for an hour. I went out for breakfast, geez...," she muttered, picking up her coffee for another tasty sip. "Guess I better call," she told Ianto with a smirk before heading over to the couch against the wall.

"Don't want to incur her wrath to the point that she 'alarmifies' your phone again," he agreed, walking back to his workspace.

Jack wandered down from his office and was about to call a greeting over to Buffy, but saw she was on the phone, so he wandered over to Ianto's desk instead.

Buffy had taken her coffee with her, not sure how long this particular conversation might last (it always varied with her adorably annoying little sister) but not wanting to chance the beverage losing its delicious warmth. She completely forgot about it, though, at the sound of her sister's wavering voice.

"Dawnie? What's wrong?" were her quiet, worried words, and automatically her thoughts jumped to Spike. He'd been fine when they spoke last night, he'd been finishing a mission and was basking in the glow of a demon's ass well-kicked, but that didn't mean anything. He could still...

But in reality, it was so much worse than that.

"How many?" she questioned, her voice so very quiet, her thoughts slowing down so that only this moment existed. And then the mug dropped from her fingers, chipping on the floor and splashing the brown liquid everywhere. The sound seemed to echo through the room.

"I'll come as soon as I can," she said very quickly, then flipped the phone closed, staring at it in her hands, but seeing so far beyond it.

Jack and Ianto were going over some data on Ianto's terminal when the coffee mug hit the metal grating of the floor, but their eyes immediately whipped to the other side of the room when they heard the sound.

Jack rushed over, Ianto hanging back a bit, just behind him. "Buffy?" he asked. She looked utterly distraught. He crouched down next to where she sat on the couch and took her hand. "Buffy, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked gently.

Gwen chose that moment to make her entrance, the cog door rolling back as the proximity alarm sounded, and walked in completely oblivious to the fact that anything was going on. Ianto headed over to intercept her.

Buffy didn't look at Jack. She couldn't focus enough to see his face, and her body was so numb that she could barely feel his hand. His voice sounded very far away...

"I, uhm," she said, her voice quiet, hesitant, as she stumbled over words and thoughts, "I have to... go back to Cleveland." She took a breath and felt like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. "For a funeral... For _twelve_ funerals..."

Really, she didn't know if it would be one funeral or many, didn't know if there had been separate plans or if families had been notified or if... She was suddenly so very glad to not be the one in charge anymore.

Jack's expression became somber. Ianto had been quietly making his way back to where he'd been standing with Jack, but froze in place when he heard what Buffy said.

"Of course," Jack told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He looked behind him at Ianto. "Please make the arrangements."

Ianto recovered himself enough to nod and walk over to his terminal to book Buffy's flight.

Jack looked at Buffy again. "What happened?" he asked softly. "What happened to twelve of your girls?" It could only be that. Twelve people killed in Cleveland... she'd been working there with the young Slayers she affectionately called 'Minis' before she'd joined them at Torchwood.

Gwen had moved closer as well, standing a ways behind Jack, but within hearing range. The fact of a funeral was enough to make her heart ache for her friend, but _so many_... She wanted to rush forward and wrap her arms around the poor girl who looked so very tiny, but she could tell that it just wasn't the right time for that. Despite the many hours they'd spent together, the one Buffy was closest to was Jack. He was the one who could do the most good now.

"There was a training camp," Buffy said so softly it was almost a whisper. "Our youngest girls, the ones who were just kids when they were called, and now they're old enough to choose to fight..." She closed her eyes tight, not yet crying but feeling very close to it. "They were out in the woods, connecting... There was an _attack_ -" Her breath hitched and she clutched at Jack's hand.

Gwen couldn't stop herself from stepping closer, asking a question as she tried to understand the situation. "But they were still Slayers, weren't they? With so many, shouldn't they have been able to fight off anything?"

Buffy shook her head, blinking heavily and trying to keep her breathing even. "An explosion," she breathed, her voice tight. "Not demons; _humans_ did this. People who profit from the demon world and want every Slayer dead so they can make more _money_." The words were like glass in her throat, her hatred for those _people_ was so great.

Jack pulled Buffy down onto his knee and wrapped his arms around her. It wasn't a comfortable position for him, but he wasn't particularly concerned about that. He rubbed her back lightly.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Ianto approached tentatively. "Buffy," he said, "your flight leaves in two hours. I'll drive you to your flat to pack a bag and then to the airport. I've arranged a car in Cleveland to pick you up when your plane lands. It'll take you wherever you need to go."

Jack looked up at him. "Thanks," he said. 

"I'll come to the airport with you," he told Buffy. He lifted her onto her feet. Sometimes it was unbelieveable how little she weighed. "Let's go," he said kindly. "We need to get you on your plane."

Gwen stepped forward to wrap Buffy in a brief, tight hug. "You just look after yourself, sweetheart, we'll be fine," she murmured to the younger girl before stepping back. "I'll stay here and Riftsit," she said to Jack with a nod. "Take all the time you need."

Buffy gave Gwen a wavering smile before slowly walking toward the cog door. Her hands shook slightly as she took her coat off the rack; it dripped onto her shoes and it was then that she noticed the brown stains setting into her jeans. Don't cry, it's only spilled coffee.

Ianto drove them to Buffy's flat, Jack sitting in the backseat with Buffy, holding her hand. They didn't speak all the way there. Once they arrived, they followed Buffy upstairs.

Ianto stood near the kitchenette, out of the way, and let Jack stay closer to Buffy, to help if needed.

Buffy moved as if in a daze, going to her bedroom and grabbing the soft leather bag from her closet before carefully selecting clothes to take. Formal outfits, things befitting the situation and the tasks she would be asked to perform.

She was kneeling in front of her closet, searching for the mate to a shoe, when suddenly she turned to look up at Jack, her eyes full of quivering tears. " _Faith_ was with them," she told him moments before her face crumpled and she just couldn't hold back any longer.

Jack pulled her into another hug, running his hand over her hair. He was a little shocked himself. He'd assumed it was 12 of the young learner Slayers. Faith was second after Buffy in the overall scheme of things, if he remembered that conversation correctly.

It occurred to him that Buffy might feel compelled to return to the Council after this. He sincerely hoped not, but he wouldn't tell her what to do. She had to do what she thought was the right thing.

He sat her down on the bed and took the lone shoe from her hand, then turned to the closet to dig for the other one.

Buffy's tears became sobs that were loud and ragged; she let everything out because she knew there would be long hours ahead of sitting among people she didn't know, and there would be no chance to deal with these things once she was there. There would be so much to do, so much to prepare...

Faith. Things had been... terrible between them for so long, and then, after the battle with the First, things changed. Faith suddenly understood, as no one else ever had, just what it meant to _be the Slayer_ , the pressures and responsibilities and the agony of it all. Faith had agreed to take over when Buffy had left the New Council for Torchwood _because_ she'd understood that Buffy deserved to live a life other than the one that had been commanded of her. It was what they'd been working towards with the NC, carving out a world where those girls had choices that had never been offered before.

And now she was gone. Things would never be the same.

Jack found the shoe and turned to Buffy. "What else do you need?" he asked. "Let me help."

Buffy pulled in a deep breath, closed her eyes tight and tilted her head back. "There's a leather jacket," she said between the breaths that were slowly beginning to help her return to an at least somewhat calm state, "in the closet. Cranberry color..." It had been a gift from Faith. She'd asked Buffy to wear it at her funeral -- neither girl had any illusions of living to a ripe old age, not while they were still fighting the fight. And Faith had always been a little bit on the darker side of things.

Jack set the shoes next to her bag and rummaged through the garments in the closet until he found a likely suspect. He held it up for Buffy's approval.

"This one?"

She glanced at it, her eyes catching on the color that screamed _Faith_ to her, and nodded. "Thank you," she said quietly, her eyes going to where he'd set the shoes, her thoughts tugging them onward to the pair she was currently wearing.

"I need to change," she murmured before standing slowly. The coffee had left a reminder of its presence. Stopping in front of a set of drawers, she pulled out another pair of jeans, the softest she owned, and went into the attached bathroom to quickly change. She left the stained ones draped over the side of the tub, then splashed water on her face, trying to erase the signs of her tears and finding the action fruitless.

Grabbing a few things from the bathroom, she took them into the bedroom, dropping them into the bag as well. She stared down at it for a few long seconds, then said, "I think that's it."

He picked up the bag and put his arm around her, walking back out into the livingroom/kitchen area where Ianto was waiting.

He took one look at them and opened the door to let them out of the flat ahead of him.

Buffy was silent as they left her building, as they loaded her back into the car, as they headed toward the airport. She felt... numb. But, she supposed numb was good in a way. She remembered numb from when her mother had died.

"Death is my gift," she breathed the words, pondering now how Death was her constant companion, a friend she met late at night on street corners. There was always so much death in her life.

Jack didn't really catch what she said, it was barely a whisper.

"What was that?" he asked quietly, looking at her with concern.

Buffy leaned her head back against the seat, then rolled her head to the side so she could look at Jack. "Death is my gift," she repeated, a little louder this time. "It's what the first Slayer said to me, before I died to save Dawn. Now it seems like everyone is dying but me."

Jack put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Yeah," he said, "I know what _that's_ like." 

He noticed Ianto glance at him in the rearview mirror when he said it, then the younger man's eyes flicked back to the road when he saw that Jack was looking at him. The truth was, Ianto knew what that was like, too. Anyone who crawled out of the carnage of Canary Wharf would know how that felt. He never really _had_ talked about that day in any detail. He hadn't talked about how he'd _felt_.

Jack looked down at Buffy. "Buffy, I want you to know that you can call me any time, day or night, if you need anything, okay? Even if you just need to cry at the phone. I mean it."

She leaned against Jack, setting her head on his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his middle. "I know," she answered quietly, giving a little nod. "Thanks."

Buffy could never begin to tell Jack how much those words meant to her. He'd never expected anything from her, not like the others in her life had, and for that alone, he was on her list of favorite, most trusted people, right up there behind Spike. It was the highest compliment she could give, and one day she'd share it with him.

When they arrived at the airport, Jack made sure she had all her things and Ianto handed her the printouts of her ticket and the information on the car that would be picking her up.

"Now, whenever you want to come back, let us know. You've seen how fast Ianto can get you on a flight," Jack told her. He'd been unsure how to word it, whether he should say 'if' or 'when', so he went with something more ambiguous.

Buffy couldn't help but smile a little, though it was a sad one, because she knew what he was saying between the lines. "I'll be back in a few days, Jack," she told him with complete certainty. " _This_ is my home."

Turning her gaze to Ianto, who had been a silent pillar of strength without even realizing it, she said, "Thank you, Ianto. I appreciate everything, really."

Ianto nodded silently. Jack gave Buffy one more hug before watching her go. Once she'd disappeared inside the terminal, Ianto handed Jack the carkeys and walked around to the passenger side of the car.

For Buffy, it was the longest flight of her life.


	19. Another Blow to the Heart

Ianto quietly set a cup of herbal tea on Jack's desk. It was nearly ten at night and Gwen had only just gone home. He stood near Jack's elbow for a moment, Jack looking up and giving him a smile in acknowledgement of the beverage before turning back to the paperwork he'd been going over.

"Any word from Buffy?" Ianto asked, slipping his hands into his pockets, perhaps in an unconscious effort to appear more casual about it than he felt. Gwen had suggested, when they'd been talking about how long Buffy had been gone, that perhaps she'd phoned Jack or sent him a message when they hadn't been around. Perhaps they'd had a personal conversation, at least. Ianto couldn't let the idea go without asking, and it was a rare thing for Ianto to ask Jack for more information than he offered voluntarily.

Jack put the papers aside and looked up at him, shaking his head slightly. He took a breath before speaking. "Ianto, it's been a _month_ since she left. We have to consider that she might not be coming back," he said softly. "She was able to leave them because they _let_ her go. If they can't operate without her now... I'm not sure how much it's even her _choice_."

Ianto nodded a little grimly and turned to go. 

Jack stood up. "Ianto," he said, calling him back.

Ianto stopped in the doorway and turned to look, wearily, at Jack again.

"If I hear anything, I _promise_ I'll let you know."

Ianto gave a very faint nod and disappeared out the door. Jack hoped he was going home to rest. They'd lost another team member, they were short-handed again, and it was taking its toll.

 

Four weeks. An entire month had passed since Buffy left Cardiff, so absolutely certain that she would be returning in just a matter of days and everything would be able to go back to being like normal. She should have known better. Nothing ever worked out the way she planned.

There had just been so much to _do_ , so many girls who needed comforting, so many details of the attack to sort through. Their witches had done more spells than Buffy cared to remember, but apparently the 'enemy' had some powerful stuff on their side as well, making it hard for even Willow to get a read on them. It was... disconcerting. Buffy wanted to make sure that everyone involved with the New Council would be safe when she left, but she could stay forever and make sure it happened herself.

Perhaps what had kept her in Cleveland the longest was her reluctance to clear out Faith's things. Dawn had offered to do it, and Buffy knew Willow and Xander would have done the same had they not been so trampled down with work (what with Willow being Head Witch and Xander being Head Watcher these days), but... It was something Buffy had to do for herself. And it had been hard. Painful. Faith had become a best friend and almost like a sister to her, and now she was just a pile of material possessions and very vibrant memories that would, eventually, fade with time.

Everything dies, but somehow that knowledge never managed to make it any easier for Buffy. 

Nothing was easy for Buffy these days. When she'd spoken to the Scoobies, what few remained now, about returning to Cardiff, she was pretty sure another explosion had occurred and the news had just missed hearing about it. Willow had been completely up in arms, drawing Xander to her side and claiming that they couldn't manage things without her. Dawn had already gone back to Europe herself, but Giles had been silent on the matter. Not silent in a good way, but silent in the way that clearly said he didn't agree with her, and he was letting her make her own _mistakes_. She had never fully recovered her relationship with her former Watcher, and it had hurt more than she'd realized it might when he didn't support her decision.

Yet, despite the near-violent protests from her friends, Buffy never once questioned that decision. She never once considered the possibility of _not_ going back to Cardiff and the little team who had welcomed her into their family. And finally she'd decided that she'd simply been gone too long, and, consequences be damned, it was time to leave.

As she folded up the last shirt and stowed it away in her bag, Buffy let out a deep breath and felt those heavy chains lift from her shoulders. She was going home.

 

Buffy had caught a flight that very night, choosing not to call Ianto and make use of those love skills of his. It would just have taken too long, and the time differences were weird and she just wanted to _go_. So she'd had one of the administration girls book her tickets and she was gone. She didn't say goodbye to anyone, not after the way they'd reacted when she'd made her decision known; she just left, and was glad there'd be an entire ocean between them.

She couldn't say she didn't miss the old days, when they'd all gotten along and been as thick as thieves, as they say. But this, Torchwood, was better for her now. She was becoming a better person for it and she didn't want to go back to who she'd been made to become before. It was too horrible for her to even think about.

She didn't know how, but she'd actually managed to get a good bit of sleep on the plane, so when she arrived in Cardiff in the middle of the afternoon, she weighed her options before heading to her apartment to drop off her things.

The apartment was definitely not how she'd left it. The entire place screamed _Ianto_. The Welshman had obviously been inside sometime over the past four weeks, because the place was neat and tidy and didn't smell like rancid garbage. He'd taken care of the mountain of dishes that had been in the sink, and when she went into her bedroom, she noticed her previously coffee-fied jeans carefully neatly folded on her bed, now perfectly clean and without a hint of coffee.

Well, that decided it. She was going into work for the evening, jet-lag be damned.

 

Jack was at Tosh's old terminal checking readings on recent Rift activity when the cog door rolled open. That was odd enough to catch his attention, since he could see both Ianto, at his desk behind the coffee machine, and Gwen, at her work station, from where he was standing. Some part of him barely dared to hope that it was _Buffy_ until the petite blonde walked into the room. Jack looked at her for a long moment before breaking into a grin and strolling over to her. He was sorely tempted to sweep her up into a crushing hug, but he didn't know how she was doing. He hadn't talked to her since she'd walked away from their car at the airport. Maybe she wouldn't welcome that sort of thing now.

"Buffy," he said mildly, but his grin was still bright and genuine. "Welcome back."

To say that Buffy was tired was like saying a vampire just _kinda_ likes drinking blood -- a severe understatement. The entirety of the last month had worn her down into a bundle of frayed, raw nerves and emotions, but... it felt so wonderful to be home. Just breathing in the distinctive smell of the Hub was enough to bring out a rare (for these days) smile.

"It's good to _be_ back," she told Jack in a voice that betrayed her weariness. She could see Gwen peering their way, a hopeful look on the older woman's face. Turning her gaze back to Jack, Buffy stuck her hands on her hips and tilted her head at him before demanding, "What, a person's gone for a month and suddenly she doesn't qualify for a Jack Harkness Hug anymore? I don't remember that being in the fine print when I signed up for this job."

Jack laughed and pulled her into a bearhug, giving her a little spin before setting her down again. He kept one hand on her shoulder for a moment, giving it a little squeeze. "How are you?" he asked, his expression becoming serious. "Did you just get back?" He smiled a little mischievously. "You know, I'm pretty sure we issued you with a phone. You didn't have to stumble out of the plane, then come straight down here," he told her.

Ianto looked at her over the coffee machine. "It's entirely likely she doesn't _have_ the phone anymore," he reminded them with only a hint of a smile betraying the fact that he was teasing her. "A month is her previous record."

"Ha ha, Mr. Chuckles," Buffy replied with all the sarcasm she could muster in her exhausted state. "I'll have you know, the phone is safe and sound," and she pulled it out of her pocket to prove the claim. She didn't, however, add that it had been safely stowed in her room at the NC HQ the entire time, because that would just be giving him _way too_ much ammunition.

She was about to answer Jack's questions when suddenly there was a Gwen Cooper hugging her. "We're so glad you're back, love," Gwen told Buffy softly as she let her go.

Jack stood aside until Gwen had finished personally welcoming Buffy back. 

"You know," he told Buffy, "I _hope_ you don't think you're going to be doing actual _work_ here tonight, Miss Jetlag." Two could come up with appropriate nicknames for people. "In fact, I'm a hair's breadth from sending this lot home as it is," he added with a nod towards the vague direction of Gwen and Ianto.

Ianto glanced at Jack over the coffee machine, then went back to quietly doing... whatever it was he was doing back there. Probably catching up on paperwork. They'd been out of the Hub a lot. The Rift had been active while Buffy was gone.

Jack smiled warmly at her. "But if you're feeling up to it, I'm sure we'd all enjoy your company if you felt like sticking around for a bit."

"Thank god," Buffy said with palpable relief as she walked over to her station, which looked exactly as she had left it, and then dropped into her chair. "I _did_ just get back, and I came to _thank Ianto_ ," she raised her voice a bit so he'd be sure to hear her, "for looking after my apartment, and, well, I didn't really want to be alone just yet."

Ianto looked over at her curiously. 

Jack gave Ianto a questioning look. "What've you done _now_?" he joked.

Ianto shrugged and fiddled with something on the coffee machine.

Buffy grinned and reached over to pick up a pen that had been left out and return it to the little cup with the rest of them. "He's just been cementing that adorable image I have of him, is all," she said with a teasing tone.

Gwen laughed loudly and returned to her station to grab her bag. "I'm sorry, Buffy, you just got back and I'm running off," she told the other woman, "but I _promised_ Rhys I'd be home in time for dinner tonight. He's cooking..."

Buffy just waved her hand. "Go home to the hubby."

Jack gave Gwen a little wave as she left, as well. The cog door had barely closed behind her when Ianto set a coffee down on Buffy's desk.

"Probably not the best thing at this time of night, but I expect you're knackered enough to sleep, regardless of how much caffeine is in your system," he said before going back to his desk.

Buffy very nearly melted into a warm gooey puddle when she smelled Ianto's coffee, something that had been sorely missed during her month away. She was about to begin devouring the tasty beverage when her tired mind finally registered what she had just seen. She was up out of her seat and halfway across the room in seconds, carefully grabbing Ianto's sleeve and tugging it up to reveal the bandage under the fabric.

Her jaw dropped as she stared at the injury, not quite comprehending. She turned a frightened, confused stare on Ianto, and then on Jack, silently begging the both of them for an explanation.

Ianto likely wouldn't have _given_ her his arm to examine, but she was on it before he even realized what she was doing. He lifted it gently out of her grasp before she could follow the bandaging, which went almost all the way to his elbow, to its end. The injury was a couple of days old and, while it still stung a bit if he moved it the wrong way, he'd pretty much forgotten that it was there. He hadn't thought anything of setting the coffee mug on Buffy's desk with that hand fully in her view and he was sort of kicking himself for it.

"Just a bit of a run-in with one of our nastier customers," he said. He smiled a bit wryly. "It bit me, to be precise." It had scratched him up a bit as well, but the teeth had made a deeper wound than the claws had done. "No permanent damage," he assured her, stepping back from her towards his desk.

"You should see the other guy," Jack added lightly. 'The other guy' was in the alien morgue. Jack had had to shoot it when it rushed Ianto, or it would have done worse than maul the archivist's arm a bit.

They were so... casual about it. Like it was no big deal. But Buffy felt as if something had slammed into her, knocking the breath out of her lungs. Ianto had gotten _hurt_ , had been bitten by something, because she wasn't there. That was what resonated in her mind, the idea that, ultimately, she had failed them. Her _job_ was to keep these people safe, to make sure they made it through the day unscathed because they couldn't afford to have any more of their little world chipped away.

And she'd failed them. Just like she'd failed people so many times before.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking down at the floor with guilt pressing against her chest, making it hard to breathe. "I should have been here to stop it from happening."

Jack put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. "Buffy, I know what you're thinking because it's all over your face, but this is _not_ your fault," he told her firmly. "Field work is dangerous, even when you are here and sometimes things happen that we can't anticipate."

"And also, I'm barely hurt," Ianto interjected, deciding that the number of stitches it had required was a piece of information Buffy never needed to know.

"Seriously," Jack agreed. "He missed, like, half a day of work." They hadn't been able to spare him for longer.

"It looks worse than it is," Ianto told her. That _may_ have been true.

If Buffy had been what she seemed to be, a ditzy blonde who had a very low score on the IQ exam, then maybe she would have believed their words. But she wasn't, and she didn't. She'd been around Giles long enough to pick up on when someone wasn't telling her all the facts, and all it did was make the pain worse.

"Yeah, sure, if you say so," she said with a hint of false perk, trying to push past that cloying exhaustion and overwhelming sense of guilt and only partially succeeding. "Hey," she said as she stepped away from Jack's touch, "I think I'm actually gonna head home now. Little more tired than I thought. But _call me_ if anything pops up, okay? Officially back on the clock now."

If they knew her at all, they would see right through it; it had always worked on the Scoobies.

"Buffy, wait," Jack said, relenting. He took a step towards her, but didn't attempt to touch her. She'd already shrugged him off. 

"Why don't you grab your coffee and come sit in my office for a couple minutes before you go?" he asked. It wasn't _really_ a suggestion. He made a sweeping gesture towards his door as Ianto turned his gaze to the floor and moved back to his desk.

Doing as instructed, Buffy turned to pick up her drink and headed into Jack's office, sitting in front of his desk, the warm mug clutched between her hands. The smell of coffee was no longer as comforting as it had been just minutes before, and she was struggling to keep herself detached enough to not break down into tears right there.

"Buffy, I don't know what else to tell you about that," he said, nodding towards the window where Ianto could be seen doing something studiously at his desk. Jack suspected he wasn't actually _doing_ anything particularly productive, but just wanted to look busy enough that nobody would expect him to leave before he knew whether things were alright between them and Buffy. "You were doing what you _had_ to do and nobody blames you for it. _That_ is one hundred percent the truth." He looked at her for a long moment, not speaking again until she met his eyes. "We're just thrilled to have you back," he told her gently. "We were starting to worry that you wouldn't be able to return at all."

Buffy was quiet for a long moment, lost in her own thoughts. Even if _they_ didn't blame her for it, she blamed herself. It was her job to keep these people safe, it was what she'd been hired to do. And she hadn't been there to do it because she'd been at her former job, trying to help patch things up that she shouldn't have had to patch up. She should never have stayed as long as she had.

"I didn't say goodbye," she finally said, her voice soft. "There was this big argument... They didn't understand. They said I had a duty to be there, and I was turning my back on it, and on them." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. "So I just left. I don't know what things will be like the next time I see them. But... I made my choice."

"I wasn't sure if it was your choice to make or not," he admitted. "I don't know how this whole Slayer thing works, really." He gave her a tentative smile. "I'm _glad_ it was. I was... trying to prepare them for the possibility that it wasn't, though, so do me a favour? Try not to be too hard on yourself. He'll feel bad for making _you_ feel bad... it's a great big circle of badness and they just want to be happy that you came back." He glanced down at his hands, folded on the desk, and took a deep breath before looking back at Buffy. "It was nobody's fault, Buffy. Really."

Buffy met Jack's gaze and just nodded. Taking a sip of her coffee, she found that it didn't even taste as wonderful as she remembered, and hoped that it was just her mood and not Ianto losing some of his coffee skills. That would be a tragedy beyond comprehension.

"I'm gonna go say goodnight and then go home, okay?" she said carefully, setting the mug on Jack's desk. "It's been... a very long month."

Jack's expression became somber again and he just nodded. He didn't get up to follow her. She'd been quite keen to stick around a bit when she'd arrived and he was sure that he'd fucked things up. "See you tomorrow," he said simply.

After she left the room, he ran his hand over his face and sat back in his chair. They'd been run off their feet all month and this was the first time he, personally, had felt truly exhausted.

Buffy walked over to Ianto slowly, contemplating in her mind how exactly to do this. Finally, she just leaned her hip against his desk and softly asked, "So, is that arm too sore to give me a hug? Or does that go against the Coffee God Code of Conduct?"

Ianto... wasn't really a hugger, but he felt like the awkwardness of the whole situation was his fault. He got up and held out his uninjured arm, giving her a small squeeze before stepping back again. He flexed the injured arm a couple of times, so she could see. "It's honestly fine," he assured her. "You've been bitten. It's not unheard of." A small smile as he added, "At least I didn't wake up pregnant, like Gwen did the last time something bit _her_."

That comment managed to get a smile out of Buffy, a bigger one than his hug had managed. She knew he wasn't big on public displays and he had a very pronounced personal bubble, so his willingness to grant her request really meant a lot to her.

"Now see, though, _that_ would've been funny," she gently teased him, poking his good arm with a finger. "I'd love to see you waddling around looking like you'd swallowed a watermelon."

Ianto laughed _very_ lightly and very briefly at that, but it was something. He nodded. "I'll keep that in mind," he said flatly. "But don't hold your breath. I don't plan on being bit by anything else in the near future." 

He looked away from her a moment, almost like he was trying to gather his thoughts. "I'm sorry, though," he said quietly. "I should have been more careful and I didn't... it wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable, or... or to upset you." She'd just returned from a difficult trip and he felt like he'd ruined what good mood she'd been able to salvage. He frowned slightly. "Oh, and I didn't know where you kept which dishes, actually. The cupboards were pretty much empty, so I just... guessed." He chanced at looked at her face again. "In case you can't find something," he added quickly.

Buffy shook her head and crossed her arms over her stomach, not wanting to touch Ianto again for fear of overstepping that bubble boundary. "Pretty much anything could upset me right now, Ianto," she tried to assure him with a wavering smile. "It's not your fault. The last few weeks haven't been the easiest for me. I might have cried a river if you'd forgotten the sprinkles on my coffee." It was a lame attempt at a joke, but the best she could manage.

"And really, thanks for looking after things for me. I didn't even think of any of it... I didn't think I'd be gone so long," she added with a shrug. "I appreciate it. I try not to spend a lot of time in the apartment, because it gets lonely pretty fast, so things just sort of... pile up after a while."

Ianto nodded. It hadn't been anything, really. He just didn't want her to come back to a smelly flat. Not after all that.

"Look after yourself," he told her earnestly.

Buffy nodded as well and gave him a smile. Stepping back, she gave Jack a little wave, not sure if he really noticed, and then left the Hub to start the agonizing walk back to her lonely apartment.

Jack stepped out of his office just as Buffy turned to go, walking down the steps as she left. He didn't even wait for the cog door to finish closing before going to Ianto and leaning into him, wrapping his arms around the injured man's waist and resting his head on his shoulder. Ianto returned the embrace without saying anything. Neither of them felt like they'd handled the situation with Buffy well and all they could do was take solace in each other's warmth.


	20. Reunited and Back to Work

Jack was on his second cup of coffee by 8:30am. He'd refrained from calling Buffy the previous evening, after she'd left. She'd been jetlagged and he hadn't wanted to disturb her rest. Still, he wanted to see if she was feeling any better. He hadn't expected such a strong reaction on her part to what was, essentially, a minor injury. Jack, for his part, had been scared to death for just a moment, when the creature had suddenly turned away from him to attack Ianto, but afterwards, when the injury had been treated, he was just relieved that it hadn't been serious.   His office was entirely windows where it overlooked the Hub's main operations area. He got up from his desk and went over, looking out across the silent space. He caught Myffanwy in flight out of the corner of his eye. His gaze scanned the workstations, the coffee area and the medical bay looking for Ianto, but he couldn't see him. Maybe he'd gone down to the vaults or the archives.   Jack gave up and went back to his desk. It was littered with paperwork that he should be completing, but his attention refused to be held by it. He picked up his coffee cup and wrapped his hands around it, propping his elbows on the desk. He wouldn't call his mood 'anxious', per se. He felt like he'd put his foot in it the previous night and he wanted to know if Buffy was okay now. That was all. Really.

Buffy quickened her pace across the wooden boards leading the way to the little tourist office disguising one of her favorite places in the world. Funny, back in the old days, 'work' never seemed like a fun idea, but since joining Torchwood, she'd started looking forward to each new day. And she had missed it desperately while she'd been gone.

She took a quick second to check her reflection in the window, smoothing a piece of hair back into the clip she'd twisted the blonde mess into, and then hurried inside. She was determined not to let her teammates notice that she'd barely slept the night before, or that she'd spent the time not used for sleeping for crying her eyes out. So the makeup was in full-force, along with her best jeans, heeled boots, and a pretty black blouse. She hefted her two bags higher onto her shoulder and hurried inside, the elevator seeming to take far too long and the cog door going as slow as an old snail.

There was no one in sight when she entered the Hub Lobby. That was weird.

Jack heard the proximity alarm and went to his window to see who had just made their entrance through the cog door. It was Buffy. Thank God.

He put his coffee down and stepped out of his office, leaning on the rail of the small staircase there.

"Morning, Sunshine!" he called out cheerfully across the empty Hub. "How's the jetlag?"

Buffy half-froze and half-jumped when she heard Jack's cheerful voice. It sounded like an impossible combination of reactions, but that was the only way to describe her jerky movement as she tried not to trip over her own feet. When she'd confirmed that she'd be staying upright, she glared up at Jack. As usual, he was way too perky. Maybe this was a 'taste of her own medicine' kind of thing? Nah.

"It's kicking my ass, thanks, how're _you_ this morning?" she called back with a sarcastic smile as she dropped her messenger bag and gym bag by her desk.

She glanced over at the unoccupied coffee station and pouted. She knew she should have stopped at that little diner on her way in. She _needed_ her morning coffee, but no way was she messing with Ianto's Tools of Coffee Godness. She didn't want to end up in the Welsh doghouse when she hadn't even been back for twenty-four hours.

Jack laughed. "Don't look like that! He's around here somewhere. I'm sure of it! _I've_ had coffee," he told her with a grin.

Ianto chose that moment to reappear with his good arm full of files. "Having coffee makes you sure of what?" he asked absently, carefully depositing the files on his desk in such a way that they wouldn't slide off onto the floor as soon as he let go of them.

"That you're _alive_ and _here_ and _HI IANTO!_ " Buffy exclaimed brightly, hurrying over to the man who was, yet again, wearing an impeccable suit. He'd already set the files down by the time she got there, so she couldn't help with that, damn, but she was still all smiles for him.

His good arm now free, she latched onto it for a moment, clinging to the arm and doing her best impression of a five-year-old in a toy store. "Hi-Ianto-I-love-you-will-you-make-me-coffee-please-please- _please_?" It all came out as fast she could manage and she'd willingly blame the jetlag for her sugar-high appearance. "I didn't want to touch the Sacred Coffee God Space to get my own," she explained in slower words, her smile as sweet as candy.

Ianto looked up at Jack with a sort of 'rescue me, please!' look on his face, but Jack just grinned and sauntered back into his office. Ianto carefully extricated his arm from the Buffy Grip of Perkiness and nodded. "I think I can manage a cup of coffee," he assured her with a bit of a smile. He'd noticed that, even though she'd accepted it happily the previous night, she'd barely taken a sip. "Did you... want the usual?" he asked casually, dropping some beans into the grinder. "Or something else?"

"The usual would be amazing," she assured him, her smile dropping down a few watts to something more everyday and not-so-freaky. Watching him going about his usual coffee preparations, she could guess where the question had come from. "Sorry I didn't drink it last night. It wasn't a personal snub or anything, I was just distracted. No offense meant, I assure you. Your coffee was one of my most-missed things when I was gone; apparently there is no decent coffee in all of Cleveland. I know, I looked."

Ianto smiled almost self-consciously when she told him there was no decent coffee in all of Cleveland. He made her usual non-fat mocha, complete with sprinkles and handed it to her. He never produced these little works of caffeinated art with any sort of a flourish. He just put it in her hands, gave her a small, encouraging smile and turned to his files.

Buffy gave him a little smile and a soft, "Thanks," when he handed her the drink. She took a hesitant sip, more than willing to suffer the momentary pain of a still-hot beverage in return for the warmth that immediately began to chase away a few of the shadows clinging to her soul.

"It's good to be home," she observed with a quiet sigh before turning her attention back to her teammate. "So, what kind of lovely paperwork have you got for me? I'm sure it was just piling up somewhere in my absence."

"Erm, no," Ianto said, almost sounding uneasy, like he thought he was going to disappoint her. "I actually finished it up last night." He turned his gaze from his files to Buffy. "I thought you'd probably want to jump right back into the field," he admitted. "And that... training... stuff," he added, gesturing towards the floor and, by extension, her training room, with a flick of his eyes.

He looked back at her face for a sign as to whether he'd just fucked up with her again, for the second time in as many days.

Oh. That was... unexpected. Buffy had actually been sort of looking forward to the monotony of Torchwood paperwork, as much as it would shock anyone who knew her, because it was normal and would help her feel like she was really back at home. But... he'd been trying to help. She could see that uncertainty in his eyes, that worry that things were going to be just like the night before. And she couldn't have that now, could she?

"Best present ever," she told him with a smile, pulling on her gratitude toward his gesture to make the smile a real one. "Really. You know I'm just like Jack with the paperwork hate-age. And I actually brought some things so I _could_ train today," she added with a nod toward her desk, where the gym bag waited for her.

Ianto glanced at the gym bag she'd pointed out, nodded and tidied the pile of folders a bit. "I'll let you know if something comes up, though," he assured her.

"Thanks," she acknowledged, smile still in place. "I'll be downstairs if anyone needs me."

And then she turned, walking to her desk to grab the bag before heading for the stairs. The moment she was out of Ianto's sight, the smile faded and the deep lines of depression returned. Her training room was just as amazingly impeccable as it had been the first time she'd seen it, when her teammates had surprised her, back before things had taken their dark turn in her life. She gazed longingly at the heavy bag, at the broad expanse of open space for her katas, but she just... couldn't. The shadows were back, and no matter how much she cradled her coffee-shaped teddy bear as she sat on a bench against the wall, they just refused to be chased away again.

 

Jack jogged down the steps from his office with his empty coffee cup in his hand. He deposited it on the edge of Ianto's desk and looked around.

"Where's Buffy?" he asked.

"Training room," Ianto replied.

Jack looked at him for a moment. "How was she?" he asked.

"Bit odd," Ianto admitted. He looked up at Jack. "I couldn't really put my finger on it, but there was _something_. Smile didn't quite reach her eyes most of the time."

Jack nodded. "I'm going to go check in with her," he said, sliding his hands into his pockets and strolling towards the stairs to the lower levels.

When he got to the training room, he leaned on the doorway. She was sitting against the far wall, staring down her coffee cup.

"You know, if you don't drink that, you're going to give him a complex," Jack told her lightly with a hint of a smile.

Buffy vaguely remembered hearing him coming, but suddenly Jack was right there and she couldn't hope to ignore him. She glanced over at him, her expression betraying the sadness permeating her thoughts, and then raised the mug to her lips. A few long drinks later and over half the coffee was gone.

There, problem solved.

She set the mug on the bench beside her, then leaned her head back against the wall. "Feels like it's been a lifetime since I was last down here," she observed in her normal voice, knowing the room had pretty great acoustics and would carry her voice to him easily.

Jack straightened up and walked over, dropping onto the bench beside her. "Seemed like an eternity to us," he agreed. "And I don't use that word lightly." 

He leaned his head back against the wall himself, then turned to look at her. He gave her a playful nudge with his elbow. "We missed you," he told her plainly. "After a couple of weeks passed, I tried calling now and then... but I just got your voicemail. I didn't leave a message," he explained, so she'd know why there weren't any. "I figured you had to be busy. It couldn't have been easy cleaning up after a mess like that."

Buffy smiled sadly at that, staring at nothing against the far wall as she thought about that last bit he'd said. Finally, she nodded her agreement with the statement. "I had to deal with the families," she told him quietly, her voice sounding like a woman far older than the age of twenty-eight. "They were all so young, and their parents knew the risks, but they never thought... They were never supposed to be put in that kind of position, not yet."

Leaning forward to set her elbows on her knees, Buffy covered her face with her hands. "There aren't any more," she said cryptically, the weight of a destiny she'd never wanted pressing down on her. She felt like she was about to break. "When we did what we did... We broke something and I don't think there's any way to fix it and I just... I don't know what to do."

"There aren't any more..." Jack prompted, his voice trailing off. "Do you mean Slayers? There's aren't any more... as in, there never _will_ be?" he asked curiously. He gazed across the room for a moment, thinking that over, trying to understand the possible ramifications. "But Slayers are mortal," he pointed out. "Once you're all gone... is there anyone to take over the fight?"

She lifted her head, her hands falling away, and shook her head. "No one like us," she said, sounding more than a little lost and... hopeless. "Slayers are the front line on the battlefield. We have Watchers and Witches and... some friends in the demon world who would rather live _with_ humans, but..." It wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough, even with how much things had changed since the days of the old Watcher's Council.

Jack reached over and took her hand. "And if you hadn't done what you did, could you have beaten the First?" he asked. "Could you have saved the world? And if you couldn't have, would it have mattered whether new Slayers would ever be called or not?"

Buffy clung to his hand and moved closer so she could rest her head on Jack's shoulder. "That's what makes it so... frustrating," she admitted. "There _wasn't_ anything else we could have done. We were a dozen scared girls and a handful of seasoned fighters, and we didn't stand a chance on our own. And look what we have to show for it." Her tone was turning bitter, the years having worn her down in all the wrong places. "Save the world only to end up right back where we started, being picked off until there's no one left. It's just what the First wanted, the end of the Slayer line."

"That's what a war _is_ ," Jack said. "But somebody still has to fight, because if there's the slightest chance of holding off hell for the lucky, unknowing, unseeing masses that walk around on the surface, then it has to be done." His voice was soft, but full of conviction. He looked down at her. "Still, the casualties are never easy to take and it can be hard not to let them break you."

Buffy let out a deep sigh, knowing his words were true because she'd said them herself, so many years ago. 

"You know, at one point, some of them actually tried arguing that this was all _my_ fault to get me to stay," she said in a quiet voice tinged with sadness. "It's Buffy's fault, it was her idea, she should stick around to help clean up the mess and figure out how to fix it."

Jack pulled back a bit to get a proper look at her, a slightly horrified expression on his face. " _Your_ fault?" he said. "How could it _possibly_ be your fault?"

Buffy gave Jack a one-shouldered shrug, the weariness of her years of battle showing clearly in the apathetic gesture. "Everything usually ended up being my fault at some point or other, where someone was concerned," she explained. "I was the oldest, the one in charge, even if most of my days _were_ spent behind a desk. I made the decisions, so I was crucified for them. Just seemed natural, I guess, to continue the trend."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "All the more reason to stick with Torchwood," he told her lightly. "Around here, everything's _my_ fault," he joked, giving her a little nudge with his shoulder.

Buffy returned the nudge with a playful smirk. "Why do you I think I took that job offer?" she teased. "It wasn't your dashing good looks, I'll tell you, or that sex-charm you ooze all over the place, because I seem to remember the both of us being taken."

Jack looked at her with mock horror. "I do _not_ 'ooze'," he objected. He grinned. "But I'm pretty sure I was told that it was entirely the thrall," he reminded her. "And then you made Ianto say it, and _that_ was just _hot_."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm gonna tell Ianto you said that," she informed him with complete seriousness. "And then you'll never hear that word outta his mouth again. Pity, what with those lovely Welsh vowels and all..."

Teasing was part of Torchwood training.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her, accepting the challenge. "He knows that I thought it was hot. In fact, I doubt I could ever say anything that would surprise him, so I don't know what _telling on me_ is going to accomplish!" he pointed out.

Buffy just stared at Jack for a moment, then reached up to poke his cheek with her finger. "You are incorrigible," she designated, then settled back against him and his shoulder. "And we wouldn't have you any other way."

"That's a relief," he said with a smile. He leaned his head back against the wall before turning to look down at Buffy again. "Listen," he said more seriously. "Whatever was said back there... I hope you didn't take it to heart. All joking aside, I really don't want to have to go over there."

Buffy just smiled and chuckled quietly. "No offense, Jack, but between the Mini Slayers, the Witches, and our fully-trained Watchers, if you went over there, you'd probably get your ass handed to you," she said a bit more cheerily. "But the sentiment is very appreciated."

"Well, that's the beauty if being me," he said. "You can get your ass handed to you and then shock the hell out of everyone by getting up and handing it back," he told her with a wink.

"Oh, so _that's_ the beauty of you," she said in her best sarcastically ditzy tone. "I thought it was that ego big enough to need its own annex. My mistake."

"Well," he said with a wave. "That has its fans and its detractors," he admitted. "The parlour trick is almost _always_ a hit."

Buffy snorted and shook her head at him. "If I couldn't die, I wouldn't call it a 'parlour trick'," she commented with amusement. "But then, I've only done the whole back-to-life thing a few times, so I'm not exactly an expert, like _some_ people."

Jack leaned towards her a bit. "I used to do it in a sideshow," he told her conspiratorially. "Shot myself in the head and got up after to bow for the applause. Three shows a night."

Buffy blinked at him for a moment. "Were you _bored_?" she questioned, an incredulous expression on her face.

"No," Jack said. "I was sent to investigate rumours of this... supernatural traveling show that was said to steal the last breath of the people who went to see them." He shrugged. "I suppose, back then, I used to sorta hope that if I shot myself enough times I might not come back, eventually." He looked at Buffy again. "I know that'll never happen, now. I can't die. Not ever. Not from anything."

There was no expression on her face as Buffy took in those words, words that, if applied to herself, would be soul-crushing. Unable to die. Unable to ever return to the peace and warmth of heaven. It was too horrible to imagine, and yet here was Jack, _living_ it.

There was nothing to say. No words could ever ease the pain that had been experience to reach that conclusion. So Buffy did the only thing she could and slid her arms around Jack, hugging him without squeezing too much. He might be all immortal and whatnot, but she figured a few Slayer-broken ribs wouldn't exactly make his day.

He hugged her back. "Don't feel bad for _me_ ," he said. "I don't regret nearly as much as I used to. I've had the chance to meet a lot of people - people that are important to me - that I never would have met if I'd only lived one lifetime. That's something I can take some solace in." He released his hold on her. "Speaking of which, why don't we go see our resident Coffee God before I go into caffeine withdrawal," he suggested with a grin. "I've only had two cups of coffee this morning, you know."

 

A swirling mass of light, energy, and magic opened in the empty tourist’s office, loose papers fluttering around the room, as a man clad in black leather stepped nimbly through the portal. He had to take a moment to gather his bearings as the light blipped out behind him, taking the mystical wind with it, leaving an unnatural hush in the room. He didn’t particularly enjoy traveling by portal, it would actually suffice to say he despised it was a passion, the sensation was similar to going through the washing machine on the rinse cycle, but it had become the standard NC mode of emergency travel and while he still distrusted magic, this occasion in his opinion qualified as an emergency. 

Taking a deep, unneeded breath he took in his surroundings with a frown. He had had Malavika, the most senior witch on his team, send him to the address he had been given, but this wasn’t anything like he was expecting. If he had to wait out the remaining daylight hours in this little hole in the wall he would be having a few strong and colorful words with the young Wicca when he got back to India.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and thanks to everyone for reading!


	21. Of Dopplegangers and Misunderstandings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 500 hits! There are no words to express how grateful we are to each and every one of you for reading our story and coming along for the ride through our little world. Thank you! ❤

Ianto stepped out from the small room behind the beaded curtain into the slightly larger small room that was the tourist office. It wasn't much of a front these days. Ianto barely had time to staff it. Still, he liked to do his paperwork there sometimes. It was quiet and people would only bother him if they really needed something. It was kind of like the archives in that respect, only slightly less musty.

He was not expecting to see John Hart standing there when he emerged, dressed in leather, the remains of a Rift occurrence diminishing behind him. Hart had escaped from the vaults while they were in London. They still weren't quite sure how. They'd returned from dropping Buffy off at the airport and, when Jack had finally gone down to release him, he was already gone. 

The coffee sloshed as he pushed it carelessly onto the desk so he could quickly draw his gun. It hurt his injured hand to grip it, but in such a small space, it hardly mattered whether the pain spoiled his aim a little. It'd be rather hard to miss.

"What are you doing back here already?" he demanded, the barrel of the weapon pointed squarely at the intruder's head. "What do you want _now_? Or have you just come to gloat?"

Spike turned from his less than impressed observations of the room around him when he heard someone step through the beaded curtain. He was only mildly surprised to see the gun pointed at his head, it certainly wasn't the first time he had been greeted in such a way, he doubted it would be the last, but it was the other man's words that made one eyebrow shoot up. 

"Whoa there mate," he said, his hands empty and out in front of him as he inched almost imperceptibly forward. "While I do so love to gloat, I usually like to know what I'm supposed to be gloating about. So why don't you put that away, because I’ll tell you right now that's not going to kill me." It wouldn't exactly tickle though either, which was why he was trying to avoid getting shot now.

Ianto didn't lower the gun - not yet - but he frowned slightly, his focus no longer on keeping the weapon carefully trained on the man in front of him. That wasn't how John Hart had ever spoken. But wait... hadn't Buffy said her boyfriend looked like Hart? He was noticing subtle differences between the two men now, but if it wasn't Hart, how had he managed to use the Rift for travel?

Seeing his momentary distraction, Spike took advantage to move forward with vampiric speed and with a practiced move, wrenched the gun from the other man's grip, thinking again that if Mala sent him to wrong place, he was going to be seriously brassed off.

Ianto couldn't follow the man's movement, for a second. It was like one moment he was a safe distance away, at the end of his gun, and the next he was practically on top of him. He heard the secret passage open, but didn't have time to look at who had come upstairs as the freakishly fast man twisted his arm to tear the gun from his grip. He cried out in pain as he felt at _least_ one or two stitches pop from the sudden pressure.

The prospect of coffee was one that got Buffy up on her feet again, and after her talk with Jack, she thought she might actually be able to finish it this time. So she'd grabbed her mug and they'd headed upstairs, a glance at a monitor informing them that Ianto was up in his personal cubby hole, manning the little tourist office. The thought of messing up Ianto's fliers just enough to ruffle his feathers made Buffy's steps just a little quicker.

It was when they were reaching the surface in the elevator that Buffy's senses began to go haywire in that familiar, comforting way. She couldn't tell what exactly was different about it, but it seemed the Rift had altered her Slayer abilities in yet another way, because she just _knew_ it was him. She let out a happy sound as the doors opened and she _flew_ down the hallway, slipping through the secret door just as it was opening, a giant grin plastered to her face...

And screeched to a halt.

"Spike?!" Her eyes were wide and her voice tight as she took in the sight of Ianto's pained expression, the sound of his cry echoing through her mind. And she just stood there, not knowing what to do. Just... frozen.

"Hello cutie," Spike said turning to where Buffy popped through what he guessed was a secret passage a wide grin on his face. Guess he was in the right place after all. He was so happy to see her that it took a moment to register that she was not sharing his excitement.

"Wot?" he asked looking between her, Ianto clutching his injured hand and the gun in his own grip. "This isn't my fault."

Jack extended his hand to Spike. "Hi Spike," he said easily, though a look of slight concern showed on his face. "Captain Jack Harkness. Nice to meet you," he added before slipping past Buffy, to where Ianto stood by his desk. He could tell from the younger man's expression as he stared at Spike that he understood who the vampire _was_ by this point. He also noticed Ianto had taken off his jacket and slung it over the back of his chair when he'd come up here. He was wearing a bright teal shirt that easily showed the blood that had begun to seep through the bandages into its fabric. Jack frowned at it, lifting Ianto's arm carefully and gently peeling back the sleeve so he could inspect the wound. Ianto started, slightly, at Jack's touch and flexed his hand, still smarting from the altercation.

"Well, _this_ doesn't look particularly good," Jack remarked quietly to Ianto.

"No," Ianto replied flatly. "It's almost impossible to get blood out of these shirts."

Buffy's gaze jumped back and forth between Spike, Jack, and Ianto, until Jack's movements drew her gaze to the blood on Ianto's shirt. She'd seen the bandages covering his wound just the night before, so she knew that whatever had happened was pretty bad. Pulled stitches? That hurt like hell, she knew from experience, and they didn't have a doctor yet...

She took a few steps closer to the two men, tears biting at her eyes as she watched. This was her fault. Her absence had caused the initial injury and now it was _her_ boyfriend who had aggravated it and poor Ianto was the one to suffer for it. "I'll buy you a new one!" she said suddenly, her expression one of emotional agony. Her friend was hurt and it was _her fault_. "Really. Oh my god, Ianto, I am _so sorry_."

Spike huffed slightly, this was not the way he envisioned this reunion going at all. He hooked one hip against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the proceedings silently for a moment pouting slightly that he had yet to get so much as a hello from Buffy. 

"If your front is supposed to be a visitors office, I can't see how greeting people with these things," he finally said, gesturing to the room around them with the gun in his hand, before tossing it on the desk with disdain, rarely finding use for any such thing, "is good for tourism."

Jack held a hand up towards Buffy. "It's fine," he said. "It'll be fine." 

He looked at Ianto, one hand still resting on his arm above the wound. "Go to the hospital and get this fixed up," he said softly. Ianto nodded and picked up his gun as he walked around the counter, slipping between Buffy and Spike without a word to get to the door. As it closed behind him, Jack leaned on the counter. "And you don't have to buy him another one. He knows which form to fill out." 

He gestured towards Spike. "Why don't you give him the VIP tour?" he suggested. "Show him where real work gets done," he added with a wink and a smile for Buffy.

Neither gesture did anything to ease the pressure of guilt that was crushing Buffy's chest and making it hard for her to breathe. She couldn't say anything, so she just nodded and turned, her hand finding Spike's so she could tug him toward the secret passage.

How had her life gotten so screwed up? Could nothing go right anymore?

 

After Buffy and Spike disappeared into the corridor, Jack sat heavily in Ianto's chair. He ran his hands over his face, then leaned his elbows on the counter. He'd wanted to take Ianto to the hospital himself, but Gwen hadn't arrived yet (Jack could only imagine what might have detained her on her way to work) and Buffy was definitely distracted. He couldn't leave the place completely unsupervised and Ianto was, physically, capable of getting himself to medical attention. Of course, if they had a doctor, he could have just gone downstairs. Jack sighed and sat up straight. Ianto's coffee was on the counter, both in his mug and around it. He must have had it in his hand when Spike had appeared.

 

Spike allowed Buffy to tug him along for a few moments, before tugging back and bringing them to a halt in the dimly lit corridor. 

"Hold up luv," he requested, reaching out to take her other hand so she was facing him. He took a long moment to take her in fully and let his eyes travel over the planes of her face. "I've missed you," he said gently, trying to get her to talk to him, but knowing better than to push.

Spike was the only one who could get her out of the tough Slayer shell in five seconds flat. All their years together, all the experiences, had led them to a place where they were perfect together, even with the occasional disagreements and the long absences.

"I've missed you, too," she said as the tears finally streamed down her cheeks in a torrential downpour. Her hands clung to his like they were the only things keeping her from completely falling apart. "I'm so glad you're _here_. Everything's gotten so messed up..."

Spike quickly gathered her up in his arms, holding her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead and allowing her to shed her tears in the shelter of his embrace. "I'm here now kitten, I came as soon as I heard. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner, that I wasn't there for..." he trialed off, both of them all to aware of what he had missed while he on mission deep in the Karakoram mountains out of radio contact with the rest of the New Council.

 _This_ was what she had needed, Buffy realized as Spike held her. This was what had been missing all those weeks as she'd fought with the Scoobies and dealt with all the paperwork and the secrecy and the utter heartache of the entire ordeal. He hadn't been by her side, and so she'd faltered under the weight. But he was there now, holding her up and keeping her strong, and she could finally believe that everything might work out now.

The tears dried up and she shook her head, just resting there in the security of his arms for a moment. "Thank you for coming," she told him quietly. "I'm just sorry you didn't get a warmer welcome."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else pet," he said sincerely. "And, since nobody tried to spit acid at me or sic bkronos demons on me when I walked in the door, this was actually the warmest reception I've had in weeks."

She leaned back to look up at him with a bit of a frown. "India wasn't quite so charming, then, I take it?" she said with a bit of sarcasm. She'd been more than a little worried about him over the past weeks; they always worried about each other when they were apart, even though they knew the other could take care of themselves.

With a last little sniffle, she took his hand and tugged him the short distance left to the elevator that would take them down into the Hub.

"I spend most of my time in not quite so charming parts of the world these days, but it's nothin' the Big Bad can't handle. I've never been one for fine china and doilies anyways," he shrugged with a grin, downplaying the fact that they both knew he was often given the more 'high risk' missions around the globe. But he pushed all that aside, eager to see the place that his girl had made her home.

Buffy grinned like an idiot when he called himself the Big Bad. Every time he said those words, it brought back a flood of memories that were, at this point, rather fond ones. Those days were long gone, but they were still great to joke about, and it all made for a great story when they hashed out the tale of 'so how did you two meet?'; it was always a crowd pleaser.

By the time they got down to the lowest level, she was nearly bouncing with excitement. She was still worried as hell about poor Ianto, and she felt absolutely terrible, but she was also completely overjoyed about having Spike back within arm's reach, and now she got to show him _this_. The cog door rolled to the side and she pulled him into what she called the Lobby, not bothering to mask any of her Slayer strength because, really, he could take it.

"Spike, welcome to _Torchwood_ ," she said with a beaming smile, giving his hand a squeeze. Buffy felt something shift in the air above her and giggled. "Also, look up and meet Myfanwy." During their conversations, she'd always made sure to leave out that little detail, just in case he ever did come for a visit.

She wondered if he like pterodactyls. They did make good pets.

Spike's eyes raised slowly unsure what he was going to find, spotting the prehistoric animal both eyebrows shot almost to his hairline. That was something he didn't see every day, and he thought he had seen everything. 

"Well that's certainly a step up from Ms. Kitty Fantastico," he said watching the pterosaur fly lazy circles around the room, as he recalled the cat that the Wicca lovers had brought into the Summers' house back in Sunnydale.

Buffy smirked as the resident pet gave a loud squawk as she landed on her usual high-up perch, as if agreeing with the idea that, yes, she was extremely superior to some house cat. Or possibly she was asking when was lunch. Buffy didn't really speak dinosaur.

"She's definitely a much better guard dog," she confided, tugging Spike further into the giant room. "That's _my_ station," she said with a pointing finger, "and over there's Gwen's, no idea where she is, probably got all cuddly with her husband and got distracted, and Jack's office is over that way, the Coffee God's Station..." She'd definitely told Spike about the coffee. There was no way she could have kept that secret.

A pleased grin spread across Spike's face and he listened to Buffy gush about her working environment. It did his soul good to hear her so happy with her life in Cardiff, especially after the conference call he had had with the " _concerned_ " former Scoobies the night before that prompted his unscheduled visit.

He crossed over to the desk she had pointed out as her own and sat down in the chair, pulling her onto his lap. "So this is where you do all your Torchwood-y type things?" he asked playfully, reaching his arms around her waist to tap at the keyboard. "This is quite a piece of tech here, I'm surprised there's not a mass of ripped out wires and a slayer induced computer shaped dent in the wall," he teased.

Jack, finally, got up from Ianto's desk, leaving the paperwork right where Ianto had put it, and headed back down into the base. He figured Buffy and Spike had had enough time to properly say hello and he had work to do.

The cog door rolled back and he glanced around, spotting Buffy and Spike at her workstation. He walked over. "Hi," Jack said, leaning on the desk. "Sorry about all that," he told the vampire, with a nod towards the cog door. "Can't be too careful around here."

Buffy didn't move from her spot on Spike's lap; she knew Jack well enough to know _he_ certainly wouldn't mind the display of affection, and he'd do a lot worse in front of 'company' if Ianto would let him. "Jack, if anyone could understand about security measures, I think it's us," she said on Spike's behalf, though she fully intended to let him talk his own way out of what had just happened up top.

Which... She turned a little so she could look at Spike over her shoulder. "What happened up there?" she asked quietly, not accusing him or the absent Ianto of anything, just wanting the facts.

"Bloody hell if I know," Spike retorted quickly, turning to look Jack wanting to know what happened up there himself. "You should put a leash on your boy there if he makes a habit oh pointin' a gun at everyone who walks into your little front upstairs. Not really a good way to keep a secret organization secret. And you know how much I hate bein' shot," he continued turning his comments back towards the slayer, "so I took the gun. Didn't mean to hurt the Welshman."

Jack was willing to give the other man plenty of leeway on the gun thing. He probably didn't know about his resemblance to a certain time-traveling con man and he couldn't have guessed that Ianto was already injured. 

Jack's eyes narrowed slightly, however, at Spike's off-handed comments about how he should be managing his 'boy' and his secrecy, but he held his tongue _purely_ out of regard for Buffy. She'd just been through a rough patch and seeing her boyfriend would do her some good. He was pretty sure he managed to keep most of the daggers out of his gaze, despite what seemed like the vampire's best efforts at rubbing him completely the wrong way. He couldn't have accomplished it better if he'd been trying to do it on purpose.

In fact, it took Jack a moment and a deep breath before he could reply. "I wasn't suggesting that you did," he said evenly. "Though you _might_ have considered letting us know you were coming. I would certainly have guaranteed a more hospitable welcome." That was the truth. He'd been looking forward to meeting Spike.

Buffy could see the explosion getting ready to happen, and she wasn't sure whether it'd be smarter to try diffusing the bomb or to run the other way. But, whatever, she'd never been accused of being a genius and she doubted anyone would start.

"Uhm, Spike," she started slowly, not exactly sure how to explain things. "Remember how I mentioned that you look like someone who isn't exactly on the most popular list here? Uh, we're not talking distant relative look-alike, we're talking Parent Trap Twins level of mixups here. And... well, that's probably why Ianto pulled a gun on you. Sorry."

And then she turned down a completely different bath and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why _didn't_ you call first or something, anyway?" she demanded, because it was kind of unusual. Not that they'd ever really been in this particular situation before... but still. "And _how_ did you get here? It's daylight and the sewers aren't friendly, even for vamps."

Spike took a minute to consider Buffy's explanation, he still couldn't see how someone could look _that_ much like him, but at least what happened upstairs made a bit more sense now. No matter, as he had told his slayer earlier, it was far from the worst reception he had gotten in recent days so he shrugged it off. 

"I didn't call," be began to explain, "because I didn't know I was coming until right before I got here. Red did her mind meld thing last night to tell me I needed to contact Cleveland. Since I was supposed to be in radio silence for another two weeks I knew it had to be an emergency and ran down the mountain to the nearest village with a phone." His arms tightened around Buffy's middle as he remembered the terror he felt all the way down the mountain using all of his vampire speed to get there as fast as he could, all the while thinking that something had happened to his girl. 

"So I call up your _mates_ ,” the word clearly loaded as he continued his story, “and they tell me what happened to Faith and the minis,” he paused as grief fluttered over his face for just a moment, he had liked the rogue slayer once he had forgiven her of her part of coup they tried to pull on Buffy before the battle of with the First, and he always had a soft spot for the mini’s that Buffy had worked with in the past. 

“But that’s not what the emergency was,” he said his voice taking a decidedly darker tone. “No, they informed me that Buffy had flown the coop and gone back here without telling anyone. And then they _told_ me to call and _convince_ you, to go back to go back to Cleveland _where you belonged_ , sodding self-righteous wankers.”

“So,” he concluded, wrapping up his tale, “I told them where they could shove it - in _slightly_ more colorful language - and hung up on the lot of them. Then I had to wait a couple hours for Malavika and the Slayerettes to catch up with me, told them I had a girl to see and that they had to finish the mission on their own, and had Mala do her mojo and open a portal to here."

Jack listened to Spike's story with his hands in his pockets. Even with a fair amount of background from Buffy, there were large chunks of the story that didn't mean much to Jack. One thing he _did_ understand, though, was that the people she'd just finished helping out in Cleveland had asked him to bring her _back_ there. Permanently. 

The only thing keeping Jack from feeling any further hostility towards the vampire than his earlier comments had warranted was the fact that he didn't seem to have any intention of doing that. In fact, he seemed to have the same opinion of the notion that Jack did. Buffy, Jack noticed, look positively shell-shocked. He put his hand gently on her shoulder.

Buffy didn't even glance at Jack when she felt the hand on her shoulder. She just sort of stared off at nothing for a few moments, trying to process something she really just couldn't believe. When she was able to actually form words again, she probably didn't come off as the most coherent thing in the world.

"They... I don't..." Her mouth was hanging open and she felt like her world had just been turned on its side. "That was _so_ irresponsible, and... Risking the mission like that, and _your life_ and..." She blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the tears that prickled at her eyes.

"After _everything_ I said to them before I left, how can they _still_ not understand?"

Spike's last concern was the mission at this point, but he chose not to share that part and just gave her a gentle squeeze, dropping a feather light kiss to the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. "Because kitten," he sighed, "they've _never_ understood. They've all developed delusions of grandeur and senses of entitlement that’s all backed up by _your_ power. They think they own you as The Slayer," the capitalized punctuation clear in his tone, "they forget that you're supposed to be Buffy, their friend first."

Jack stepped back slightly and crossed his arms. He'd been quite determined, when he'd brought her to Torchwood, that they wouldn't fail to recognize that distinction. In fact, as he'd told her, he knew very little of what being the Slayer entailed, apart from what was relevant to her job. He'd allowed her to tell him what she felt he needed to know and hadn't pushed her for more, in that respect.

"Buffy," Jack said carefully and with a degree of concern, "can they _make_ you go back? Do they _have_ that kind of authority over you?"

She looked at Jack with a frown and shook her head slightly. "No," she said, almost stunned that he'd asked the question at all, it was so far off the mark. It reminded her, yet again, that Jack's world was very different from her own. "No one in the New Council has any kind of authority like that. We made sure of it when we rebuilt it, because we didn't want anyone to go through what we had before." What _she_ had, rather. "Everyone's essentially a paid volunteer; you can leave when you want."

Buffy looked down at her lap then and leaned back into Spike's embrace. "My friends just tend to forget that, I guess."

"I'd like to see em try," Spike practically growled, his anger still simmering from the forty five minute conversation (read: argument) he had had with the ex Sunnydale gang the night before. He had chosen not to tell Buffy just how heated the conversation had gotten since she probably had a pretty good idea already and it would only hurt her to know for sure.

Jack was about to add to that sentiment when the cog door rolled open and Ianto entered with his files and his coffee cup and... he must have stopped home, because his blue shirt and black and silver tie had been replaced by a white shirt and red tie under the same waistcoat. Jack followed Ianto with his eyes as the younger man walked through the Hub to his workstation like nothing unusual was going on there that day. He calmly set his files down and went to work on a fresh cup of coffee.

Buffy watched as Ianto entered, her eyes wide and sad and full of the pain she was experiencing. Everything really was falling apart, all around her, and she felt like she was going to have to struggle to keep her little haven, her new _home_ from falling apart as well.

Before either man could stop her, she was scrambling away from Spike and Jack and across the distance to Ianto's station. She stopped at the edge of his desk and very quietly asked, almost afraid of what his answer would be, "Are you okay?"

The little group around Buffy's station had seemed in the middle of something and Ianto had had no need to interrupt them, though he had briefly caught Jack's eye. He looked up quickly at the sound of Buffy's voice.

"Yep," he told her, nodding. "Good as... well, not new," he admitted. "But as good as it was yesterday, at any rate." He looked at her with a little more scrutiny. She appeared weary and drawn and that didn't seem... right. Her boyfriend had just shown up. "What about you?" he asked, trying to keep his tone casual as his eyes flicked back to the beverage he was working on.

Buffy had to look away, the weight of even Ianto's evaluating gaze too much for her to bear. "I'll be okay," she answered with a little shrug. "Just got some news from Cleveland, that's all." She wasn't trying to downplay the startling revelation just for Ianto's benefit, but for her own as well. She didn't want to think about it anymore, didn't want to acknowledge that her friends had stopped so low. "It wasn't the best, but I'll live."

Ianto looked at her, slightly stricken, momentarily forgetting what he was doing to give her his full attention. "Not another attack?" he asked softly, concern for her clouding his features.

Buffy quickly shook her head, folding her arms around her stomach as she looked down at the floor. "No, nothing like that," she assured him in a matching tone. She gave a very tiny sniffle, then nodded back to where Jack was still standing. "You can ask Jack about it," she told Ianto, not wanting him to feel like she was purposefully hiding anything from him. That wasn't the way this little team worked. "I just... can't."

That's last word's finality was punctuated by Gwen's sudden arrival as the cog door rolled aside and she rushed in, out of breath and looking anxious. "Sorry I'm late!" she called in those Welsh vowels to which Buffy had finally become accustomed. "Rhys was bringing me in this morning, but the car broke down and we had to wait for a tow, and by the time I finally managed to..."

Gwen stopped partway to her station, staring at the man sitting in Buffy's chair. Jack was beside him.

"Alright, what did I miss, and why the _hell_ is _he_ here?"

"Oi!" Spike exclaimed, sitting up straight in his, well Buffy's, chair. He was already tired of the whole mistaken identity thing.

Jack held up a hand to stop any further outburst from Gwen. "This isn't John Hart," Jack informed her. He glanced around at the people assembled in the room. "And since everyone is here now and we seem to have gotten off on entirely the wrong foot, maybe we'll just start at the beginning," he suggested. 

He looked at Spike. "Like I said, I'm Captain Jack Harkness." He gestured towards Ianto and Gwen. "Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper." He looked at Gwen, since Ianto had worked out Spike's identity up in the tourist office. "This is Spike, Buffy's significant other. No need to wound, maim or kill." He looked pointedly at Spike. "That goes for _everyone_ in regards to everyone else."

Smiling slightly, Buffy walked across the room to stand next to Spike. She took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. This was her new family, she wanted everyone to get along, without the wounding, maiming, or killing, just like Jack had said.

Gwen, for her part, carefully made her way over to the rest of the group, her eyes narrowed at the newcomer. She stared at him for a moment, then turned her gaze to Buffy. "You said they looked alike, but I think we assumed you were just exaggerating, sweetheart," she told the blonde woman with a slightly amazed smile.

Spike gave a nod of greeting to both Ianto and Gwen at their introductions, and simply raised a meaningful eyebrow at Jack at his pointed comment. _He_ had been on his best behavior since he got here, it was Torchwood crew that, as Buffy would say, wigged at the sight if him.

"Okay that's it," Spike said once Gwen stopped staring at him, having enough of feeling like a side show. "Who is this bloke and why is he wearing my face? Does he need killin', because in my experience doppelgangers are never a good thing."

" _There's_ an option," Ianto said, giving Jack an almost cheerful look.

"Nobody needs _killing_ ," Jack said, giving Ianto and Spike stern looks in turn.

Ianto shrugged and went back to the coffee machine to finish making his drink. Jack gave his back one more exasperated look before returning his attention to Spike.

"It's a coincidence. You follow the timeline far enough, you'll find lots of people look like _someone_. He's from the future. The fact that you and he have paths that have crossed in some way is just a random case of 'small universe'. It happens. Not often, mind you, but it does."

Buffy stood there with her hands stuffed into the back pockets of her jeans and looked between the members of her team. This... wasn't going as well as she'd hoped. Because she _had_ planned on Spike eventually meeting the team. Just, not with people almost getting shot and poor Ianto needing more stitches.

Her mouth opened to say something, but then she closed it again. She didn't know _what_ to say.

Spike shot a grin at Ianto and shrugged at Jack. "I still don't like it. The last time I came across someone who was trying to wear my devastatingly good lookin' face, it tried to seduce one half of my team and eat the other. And let me tell you, that makes for one bloody awkward team breakfast the next day."

Jack leveled his gaze at Spike. "Well, this guy may be a lot of things, but he doesn't _eat_ people, so you're probably safe on that front," he commented sarcastically.

Ianto turned to look at Jack, perhaps wanting to say something, but Jack gave him a look that silenced him, though a slightly mischievous expression remained on his face as he picked up his finished coffee and slid into the chair at his desk. Jack rolled his eyes slightly. Ianto could be a handful when he got into this sort of mood.

Jack looked at Buffy. "Since you have a surprise visitor, we're going to consider you effectively off-duty today..." He held up his hand to stop her protests before they started. "Barring emergencies, of course. If something looks like it might need kicked in the head, you're back on the clock." He nodded towards the stairs to the lower levels. "Why don't you show Spike the rest of the Hub?" he suggested. He wanted Ianto and Gwen to get _some_ work done and he was pretty sure Buffy couldn't take Spike home before night fell if she wanted to.

Buffy pouted for a moment before she let herself acknowledge the fact that this really was the best thing for everyone. Ianto and Gwen were still adjusting to the idea, she could see it written on their faces, and having Spike around right then wouldn't make the process any smoother. So she finally nodded to Jack and plastered a little smile on her face before taking Spike's hand and tugging him in the direction of the stairs.

First stop, weevils. Then, the training room. She had missed 'dancing' with her man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for Spike! You've all been asking for it, and we delivered. Hope it was everything you'd hoped for!


	22. Conversations with Mostly Living People

Gwen had been able to keep herself occupied for a full fifteen minutes before she felt about ready to burst. Explode. Do something stupid and quite possibly dangerous. None of which would end well in any scenario. So, after another five minutes of stewing and, just maybe, contemplating how bloody brilliant it would be to see Spike take on Hart...

She popped.

"Ianto!" she called, her take charge voice in full force. "Jack! Conference room, _now_ , please!"

Ianto looked up from his paperwork to catch Jack's eye with a ' _Seriously_?' look. Jack just shrugged and nodded towards the stairs, so Ianto got up and followed them.

"I don't know what else I could possibly say on the subject," Jack complained to Gwen's back as they walked down to the conference room. She really couldn't want to talk about anything besides Spike and, possibly, his uncanny resemblance to Hart.

As soon as they were in the conference room, with the door securely closed, Gwen turned to Jack with her arms crossed and her expression more than determined.

"You could explain to me why Buffy looks like someone killed her puppy," she suggested rather forcefully, a phrase she'd picked up from the woman in question slipping out. "And how did he get here? When? Really, Jack, I'll take anything you have to offer on this."

Jack exchanged a look with Ianto that was somewhere between 'guilty' and 'conspiratorial', then took his seat at the head of the conference table, with Ianto taking the seat to his right.

"Um... he got here by magic, if I understood that part of the story correctly," he offered. "Some kind of... portal thing."

Ianto, for his part, kept his mouth shut and his hands in his lap, under the table, out of sight

Gwen took the seat at Jack's left, where she could look at the both of them with narrowed eyes. Magic. A portal. Well, that certainly went along with what Buffy had always told them about her former job. Gwen almost wished she could have seen it. But that wasn't the point right now.

"And what's Ianto got to do with it?" she asked with a gesture to the man across the table from her. "I saw that look, Jack. You're not going to get away from it that easily."

"I'm sitting right here," Ianto pointed out pointedly.

"You know," Jack interjected casually, "if you showed up for work on time, you wouldn't have to demand unscheduled briefings."

Gwen _glared_ at Jack. "Then why don't _you_ buy me a car that won't strand me and my husband on the side of the road while the engine smokes?" she demanded, not at all amused by the way he was skirting around the subject.

"Alright then, Ianto," she said, turning her attention to the man who had brought it upon himself. "Why don't _you_ fill me in on what I missed while I was being given an outrageous car repair bill?"

"I'd think you could afford a reliable car on your salary," Jack told her breezily. "Probably two."

He wouldn't have called what he was doing 'protecting Ianto', but that was, essentially, what it boiled down to. He relented only slightly at the glare that had made her previous facial expression appear downright amused.

"There was a slight altercation when Spike arrived," Jack said, laying his hands, palms flat, on the table. "Nothing major, but I don't think it was the introduction Buffy had had in mind for the day he finally dropped by." His tone left no room for argument as to whether this was the official version of events. He was using his boss voice.

The boss voice of course gave away the fact that there was more to the story, but Gwen realized that if she wanted the actual version, she'd have to go through different sources. So that could wait.

"And is that why Buffy looked completely devastated when I walked in?" she pressed, more concerned for her friend now than angry at her coworkers for keeping things from her.

"Essentially," Jack told her evenly.

"It wouldn't have been anything on a normal day," Ianto explained, giving in, his quiet voice seeming quite loud in the big empty room. "We had a little scuffle. He just... pulled the gun out of my hand. Popped a couple of stitches."

"Buffy had a bit of a meltdown last night, when she found out he'd been injured," Jack added. "She thinks it's her fault."

"We told her it isn't," Ianto stressed.

Gwen sighed and covered her face with her hands. That wasn't good. Buffy took her job _very_ seriously, they had all seen it, and if she was blaming herself for something... She groaned loudly before lowering her hands.

"And now she's blaming herself even more because it was her boyfriend who hurt Ianto again," she concluded. Poor Buffy. This just didn't seem to be her month. "Has she said anything about how things went for her back in Cleveland?"

Jack and Ianto exchanged an uneasy look.

"They tried to talk her into staying," Ianto said softly. "They insisted that she should. She ended up leaving without saying goodbye."

"That's why Spike's here," Jack added. "They called him and asked him to come here to talk her into going back. Permanently."

Ianto frowned slightly. He hadn't known that part. Jack caught the change in his expression, even though he wasn't looking directly at Ianto.

"Apparently, he told them where they could stick it," Jack continued, "but that call was the first he heard about what happened in Cleveland, so he came anyway, to see if Buffy was alright."

"Which she's certainly _not_ ," Gwen finished, glancing toward the door as if she could see Buffy standing beyond it. "Not if she's been treated like that by people she considered family." She'd heard Buffy talk about her friends back in the States on very few occasions, but the words had never been harsh, that she remembered. Buffy genuinely cared for them, and when Buffy cared, it took a lot to make her stop.

"Well, if you have any ideas on how to deal with that, feel free," Jack told her. " _We've_ about exhausted our repertoire."

Ianto had kept his hands below the table for the entire impromptu conference, extremely self-conscious of the injury since Buffy's adverse reaction to it. He leaned forward slightly. "Maybe we should leave that to Spike, now," he suggested. "He's probably more adept at reassuring her than any of us are."

Gwen nodded, pointing at Ianto as she addressed Jack. "Ianto's right," she decided firmly. "According to Buffy, they've known each other for _years_ ; he'll know how to fix things if anyone does."

She sat back in her chair, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "I think, for now, we should try making him feel welcome," she added. "It'll mean a great deal to Buffy that everyone gets along well."

Jack nodded his own agreement. "I was thinking of inviting him to have a drink with us tonight. After the sun goes down, of course." He glanced at Gwen. "Are you and What's-His-Face free after work?" he asked with a smirk.

Gwen narrowed her eyes at Jack. "Yes, _Rhys_ and I are available," she answered with slight annoyance. "But only because it's for Buffy. _She_ doesn't torment my husband like some people."

"He _loves_ it," Jack said with a cheerful wave. "It makes him feel _included_."

"If he can't go out in the daytime," Ianto said thoughtfully, then glanced between Jack and Gwen, whom he realized were still talking about Rhys. "Spike, I mean," he added quickly. "Then... what's he going to do if we have to go into the field? Just... stay here?" he asked. "On his own?" he said dubiously. He was fine with Spike being there - he was Buffy's boyfriend - but he wasn't sure about leaving someone they didn't know in the Hub alone.

"No, he's going to stay here with _you_ ," Jack told him.

Ianto frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Buffy's back. You don't need to be taking that arm into the field and risking further injury. You're on Hub duty until it's healed," Jack told him firmly.

Gwen's eyes widened a bit before she looked to the side, pursing her lips a bit. She imagined Ianto wouldn't be too happy with the arrangement (she certainly wouldn't have been!), but Jack was right. Ianto shouldn't be out in the field, not when he could so easily hurt himself even further.

She opened her mouth to say as much, but then thought better of it. If Ianto was going to be mad at someone, best to let that anger stay with Jack.

Ianto held Jack's gaze for a moment, but didn't argue. He knew Jack was right. It wasn't even just about hurting _himself_. Going into the field at less than 100%, when it wasn't even necesssary, could get one of the others hurt, too. He nodded his understanding and went back to looking at the table a little sullenly.

"So," Gwen said, trying to change the subject. "If we go into the field at _night_... What do we do then? Take him with us? Ask him to go wander round the city until we get back?"

"Well, presumably, he's going to be staying with Buffy," Jack answered. "If we call her in for a job at night... why would he even come with her? Wouldn't he just stay at her place?"

Gwen thought about it and, after a moment, nodded. She thought she remembered that Buffy liked to hang around the Hub until Jack physically ordered her out, but it _had_ been a month and maybe she was remembering one day as one of many and not the solitary incidence it was.

"Do you think she's going to start coming to work before dawn?" Ianto asked either or both of them. _He_ didn't even get there _that_ early at this time of year. Well, not when he physically left, at any rate. He wasn't too keen on the idea of someone coming in while he and Jack were still asleep in the room under Jack's office, either. He was already considering when to set the alarm for.

"I doubt it," Gwen said with a shake of her head. "Buffy's not a morning person, remember? And apparently Spike doesn't have to sleep during the day, so I don't see why she'd be changing her schedule." She frowned, wondering if she was missing something that Ianto hadn't.

"But if they don't come in before dawn, she has to leave him at home," Ianto pointed out. "If he's only here for a short time, she's not going to want to do that, I expect."

"Oh." Her frown deepened. He had a point. Gwen's mouth opened and closed a few times, but in the end she just sat there and turned to look at Jack. He'd have an answer.

Jack shrugged. "I'd give her the time off to spend with him if I thought for a second she'd take it. In any case, I'm sure we'll find out more when we get talking to them tonight." He put his hands on the table again and pushed himself up from his seat. "Unless there's anything else?" he asked, looking at Gwen, who'd _called_ the meeting, in particular.

That earned him another glare. "No, there's nothing else," she assured him with a roll of her eyes. Sometimes he could be so infuriating...

Jack smirked. "Then I suppose you won't object to me declaring this meeting adjourned," he said. "I'm _dying_ for a coffee."

Ianto took that as his cue to get up. He slid his hands into his pockets and headed out of the conference room.

Gwen signed loudly before rising and following Ianto out. She sank into the chair at her station with a slightly glum look, feeling as if they'd really gotten nowhere with the meeting. She still didn't have all the details and now she just had even more questions about Buffy and their new arrival...

She glanced at her computer screen. Well... It wouldn't be _spying_ , not really. Not when she was just concerned for her friend, wanting to make sure everything was going alright down there... It took only a few typed commands to bring up the appropriate camera feed, the appearance of which was followed by Gwen's rather loud and astonished, "Wow."

Jack had followed Ianto to his station, ostensibly looking for caffeine, but also because the morning's incident left him wanting to stay close to the younger man, in as far as he could without breaking their rules. They both turned when Gwen commented.

Jack's eyes narrowed slightly. He couldn't see Gwen's monitor from where he was standing, but he could guess what was on there. "What are you watching?" he asked suspiciously.

"Buffy and Spike," she answered without hesitation, too enthralled by what she was seeing on the screen to really care about Jack's tone of voice. "I knew Buffy was _good_ , but this is just... Wow," she repeated, sitting back in her chair and trying to fully take in what she was seeing.

Of _course_ Jack assumed the most salacious possibility as to what Gwen was seeing on the screen. He exchanged a look with Ianto, who shook his head slightly. He didn't agree with this spying on people stuff. Owen had gotten his hands on CCTV footage of him and Jack once. Ianto had come back to the Hub with everyone's lunch to it playing on every monitor in the room. Jack had laughed it off. Ianto sabotaged Owen's next cup of coffee and felt very marginally better when Owen spent the entire afternoon hunched over the toilet vomiting. He liked to think that Owen understood that he deserved it on some level, and _that_ was why that particular little war hadn't escalated, but, in actuality, he suspected that Jack had quietly intervened in some way.

Jack wandered over to Gwen's desk while Ianto turned back to the coffee he was making.

Gwen visibly cringed as Buffy landed face-down on the mat, and her jaw dropped when the younger woman got right back up again. "I don't know how she does it," she said to Jack without taking her eyes off the screen. "I mean, yes, she's the Slayer and all and whatever that means, but... They are _really_ going at it."

Jack watched over Gwen's shoulder for a bit. "Well," he commented, "super stamina is a Slayer gift, too."

Gwen gave a laugh and glanced back at Jack before shaking her head. "Ianto, you should really see this!" she called over to the man busy making coffee or doing whatever it was he usually did. "It's bloody brilliant!"

Nothing in their words indicated that Spike and Buffy weren't, in fact, having a very intimate reunion, but there was something in Gwen's tone that made it obvious to Ianto that that wasn't what they were watching. Maybe it was how gleeful she sounded and the fact that she lacked the slight cruel streak that Owen had possessed.

Ianto handed Jack's mug to him as he arrived to stand beside him, just in time to see Buffy hit the wall of the training room hard and call a time out. When she began to talk to Spike about Faith, he reached over and switched off the camera feed. He looked at Jack. "I think I'll bring them something to drink," he suggested, turning to go back to his desk.

"Ask them if they want to go out tonight," Jack told him over his shoulder as he started towards his office.

Gwen remained at her desk, a frowned etched onto her features. Poor Buffy. The exchanged she'd just witnessed made her even more determined to make Spike feel welcome so he, in turn, might be able to help Buffy.

If anyone had a chance of making things better for the young woman, it was him.

 

Buffy was still giggling at the look Spike had given Janet the Weevil when she was warming up in her training room. She'd changed into the workout clothes she'd brought, (just softer, slightly looser jeans and a tank top,) deciding that the best thing to pass the daytime hours would be to keep them both occupied with their favorite thing.

It had been months since they'd had a good workout together, months since she'd really gotten to see him, and now he was _here_ , right there in the same room, and she just couldn't manage to be completely happy about it. The timing of his visit was both perfect and horrible at the same time, because she needed him there, but it seemed to just be making things even more complicated.

But then again, when had her life ever _not_ been complicated?

Stretching her arms behind her back, Buffy looked over where Spike seemed to be studying the array of practice tools Ianto had managed to gather for her. "So... how long do you think you'll stay?" she asked hesitantly, almost anxious about the answer. She didn't know what she'd do if he said he was leaving tomorrow.

Spike's shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly at Buffy's question. He had been hoping to put off this conversation for as long as possible as he wasn't exactly sure how she was going to take it. 

"Well," he said slowly, turning away from the broadsword he was studying with interest, "I suppose that all depends, luv. I may or may not have quit and/or been fired last night," he admitted warily, hinting at just how heated the conversation was last night, while watching carefully for her reaction to his announcement.

Buffy just sort of stared at him for a moment, blinking a few times, and then smiled softly. "Guess that means I get to give you a proper tour of Rift City then," she decided, trying to let him know she was actually a little relieved at this development. Hearing that her friends had basically pulled a Sunnydale again didn't do anything for her current outlook on life, the universe, and everything, but knowing that he'd be able to stick around for at least a little while helped immensely.

Spike let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding, which was doubly ironic since he didn't need to breathe in the first place. "I guess it does," he agreed as he crossed over to her and slid his hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "'Course there's a couple other places I'd like to take a proper tour of too," he told her with an innuendo laced grin.

Buffy smiled up at him and set her hands on his upper arms. She was suddenly very glad that she'd never let people talk her out of exercising in jeans. Not proper gym clothes, psh. She'd kicked supernatural butt in a prom dress, she could do anything in a pair of not-too-tight jeans. (Plus, it helped to be fully dressed when at any moment the Rift could go wonky and try blowing up the city or something.)

"No worries, you'll get to see my apartment later," she informed him with a bit of an innuendo-ic tone. "With its light-proof curtains that I've kept stashed in the closet in case you ever did decide to visit. But all other tours will have to wait, because right now I'd _really_ kind of like to use you as a punching bag." And she smiled, because she knew he wouldn't take offense to it.

"Oh would you now?" he asked a genuine smile spreading across his face as he pulled his hands out of her pockets, playfully clapping her on her hips. There was few things he loved more than dancing with his girl. He backed up a couple steps to shrug out of his duster, and tossed it over the pommel horse before dropping easily into a fighting stance, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. 

"So Slayer,” he said issuing his challenge, “you gunna prove you haven't gone soft on me these past couple months?"

Buffy's eyes scanned over Spike's form, taking in the sight she'd missed so very much these past few weeks. She was sure she had to be dreaming. She'd gone off on some call and some alien had gotten the better of her and she'd been knocked out and this really couldn't be...

She smiled in that predatory way she knew he adored. "Oh yeah." And then she was striking out at him, her fist going for its favorite spot: his nose.

Spike knew the strike was coming, more from instinct and experience than actually seeing the blow coming towards his face, and moved his head just enough that she missed his nose but he could feel the air moving past his cheek. 

"Oi, always with the nose, woman!" he exclaimed as he began to slowly circle. It wasn't the first time they had this exchange and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He countered with a series of high/low combo kicks that she easily blocked, but that was okay, he was just warming up.

Buffy was happier than she had been in weeks. Just feeling the air move around them as they swam through it, their movements strong and natural, just like a dance where both partners knew the steps by heart.

"Had to make sure you weren't getting slow!" she taunted him playfully. "Was a bit worried the Big Bad had gotten fat and lazy on Indian food." She jumped to avoid his leg sweeping under her, then tried for a punch to his stomach. She turned into the movement when her arm was grabbed, managing to twist out of his grip and roll across the squishy mats on the floor.

"Gotten fat?!" Horrified at the prospect he dropped his guard long enough for her to get a good shot to his side, forcing him to stumble back a few paces. He stopped in front of a wall full of weaponry and grabbed a bamboo staff off the wall. 

"I'll show you what I was learnin' in India," he countered, holding the staff at one end and going through some of the complicated series of moves of Silambam, a weapons-based style of Indian martial arts. Just because he was a fist and fangs sort of bloke, didn't mean he never stopped trying to learn new ways to kick ass.

Buffy fell into her fighting stance when he grabbed the bamboo staff, but after getting a good look at what he was doing, she straightened, her jaw dropping a bit as the sides of her mouth quirked up in a grin.

"Okay, you are so gonna have to teach me that!" she declared in an excited voice, always eager to learn new fighting techniques. She liked to think it was part of why they meshed so well. Also, she hadn't failed to notice how his gift-giving trends over the years had leaned toward weaponry of all sorts; probably made it a bit easier on the guy that she liked anything sharp, shiny, or good for hitting things.

"Thought you'd like that one," he said with a wide grin as he tossed the staff aside, paying no mind when it rolled into the wall with a loud thunk. He'd definitely be showing Buffy his new moves later, was looking forward to it in fact, but for now he was keeping to hand-to-hand, the way, in his opinion, it was meant to be. Not that he didn't have a few hand-to-hand tricks up his sleeve from his sojourn in India to show off too. With that thought in mind, he flashed her a smirk and a cocky 'come hither' gesture.

Buffy felt a rush of Slayer adrenaline course through her as the love of her life gave her _that_ look. Fighting with Spike was right up there with sex with Spike, and both were included in her definition of Best Vacation Ever. And, well, this wasn't a vacation, but it was still shaping up to be a halfway decent day, despite its gruesome beginnings.

Her body twisted and moved just like it always had, but there was something new there now, an extra spark of life because of the man she was moving _with_. He easily blocked her punches, dodged the kick she aimed at his head, and then somehow managed to make her land on the floor. Her face smacked against the mat, but she didn't bother waiting to catch her breath before jumping back to her feet.

Spike threw back his head and let out a sound that was a combination of a delighted laugh and a war cry as they took their dance to the next level. Not even training with the other most senior slayers was like sparring with _The_ Slayer, _his_ Slayer. 

Neither of them were holding back, moving with all the deadly grace and speed that only two supernatural creatures could. A kick to the center of his chest launched him into the wall in a move that would have knocked the wind out of him, if he had had breath to loose; as it was he didn't, and it didn't even slow him down before he jumped back into the battle. 

Buffy was very glad that the walls of the training room were stone and had stood for quite some time, because she had Spike had brought down an entire house before, and they hadn't even really been trying. She didn't think Ianto would find it amusing if he had to retcon some wall repair guys because she put a Spike-shaped dent in it.

The complicated choreography of punches, kicks, spins, and flips continued for quite a while, and only ended when Buffy had her own run-in with the wall that ended with her sprawled out on the floor with an aching head. "Okay," she grumbled, "time out. Just until the room stops spinning. Then I'm _so_ kicking your butt."

"I look forward to it," he replied with a smirk, flopping down on the floor next to Buffy, his unneeded breath quickly syncing with hers. 

Propping himself up on one elbow and reached over to push a lock of hair that had come free off her ponytail off her face. "You alright kitten?" he double-checked; she had hit the wall pretty hard that last time.

She let her head roll toward Spike, only very slightly concerned at the lightning bolt of pain that tried to singe her eyebrows, and smiled. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "There's no way a wall can beat _me_. "

Her thoughts were spinning as much as the room around her, and that was what she blamed when those thoughts whirled into unhappy territory. What _could_ take her down? A bomb? It sure seemed to pack a pretty good punch... She could feel her expression crumpling and her hand immediately sought out Spike's.

Knowing her as long and as well as he did, Spike could practically see her thoughts pass over her face, and gripped her hand tight when she reached out for his. Then, doing one better, he gently brought her closer so her head was resting his chest, and began running his fingers through the hair he had released from its tie. He didn't say anything, just offered his presence and his comfort, knowing she would speak when she was ready.

It never ceased to amaze Buffy how she could just be with Spike and it was enough. He never pushed her to talk about things, he never had. He just watched and waited and stood by her side until she was ready.

"They all had parents," she said suddenly, hiding against him because he would let her. "Parents and brothers and sisters and people who loved them. I had to talk to every single one, explain the situation, what was being done, but... No one came for Faith. We were all she had." It had never bothered her before, how Isolated Faith was from the outside world. Slaying was everything, and it was what had gotten her killed. Just like it had gotten all those little girls killed, too.

"You were there for Faith, and that would have meant the world to her," he countered genuinely. He knew that for all their past and for all that they clashed over the years, the number two Slayer looked up to and admired the older Slayer. He also knew from a night of drunken confessions, after he and Faith had completed a mission in Detroit back in the early days of the New Council, that Faith had considered Buffy the older sister she'd never had. 

"You all may have been all she had, but that ain't to say she didn't have a whole lot," he continued. He only wished that he could have been at the funeral as well. 

Buffy nodded and sniffled, glad she'd managed to at least not cry everywhere during the little unplanned meltdown. "Faith always said she was grateful for being Chosen," she confided as she slowly sat up, pulling Spike up with her. The floor wasn't the most comfortable thing to be laying on. "Said it gave her a family and a purpose."

Ianto, holding a tray with two mugs on it, cleared his throat slightly before knocking on the open doorway.

"Buffy, sorry to interrupt. I brought you something to drink." He looked a little awkwardly at Spike. "I... didn't know how you took coffee... or _if_ you do, for that matter..." He glanced down at the tray. "I brought you something anyway, just in case."

Spike was distracted by what he was going to say to Buffy by the Welshman's entrance and instead simply dropped a quick kiss to her temple before standing and extending his hand to help the slayer up as well. 

"Thanks mate," Spike said taking the proffered cup of coffee. "And uh, sorry 'bout the..." he trailed off as he gestured towards Ianto's arm. It wasn't in his nature to apologize for something he didn't really consider to be his fault, but he knew how much it meant to Buffy to have everyone get along, so he was willing to make the extra effort.

Buffy took her own cup with a bright smile. "Thanks, Ianto," she said with all the fondness she felt for the Coffee God. "I've told Spike all kinds of great things about your coffee. And yes, he can drink it," she rambled, answering the earlier question. "He usually prefers hot chocolate, but I think the Coffee God's coffee might just change his mind."

If she could have seen the smile she gave Spike, she'd have smacked herself right upside the head. It was far too cutesy, but then she could have blamed the whole months apart thing and probably gotten away with it.

Ianto nodded, tucking the tray under his arm once both drinks had been handed out. 

He shook his head at Spike's apology. "It's nothing," he assured the vampire. "Misunderstanding." He gestured to the mug in Spike's hand. "It's just got cream and sugar."

He looked between them for a moment, before settling his gaze on Buffy. "Jack was wondering if you - the two of you, I mean - wanted to join us for a drink tonight."

"What do you think pet, wanna go out tonight?" Spike asked deferring to the Slayer as he raised the mug to his lips.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Spike's eyes widened slightly. Buffy was right, he did prefer hot chocolate to coffee, but he was starting to think that he may need to reconsider that position. 

"I'd _love_ it," she answered with a smile. When they went out drinking, Gwen and Rhys always tagged along, and it never failed to be a good time for all. "You've gotta meet Rhys, Gwen's husband. He's nothing like this bunch; he's actually _normal_."

'Normal' was a foreign word to the Slayer Campaign. Normal was exotic and occasionally a great place to vacation, though you wouldn't want to live there.

Ianto raised an eyebrow slightly. He was fairly certain _he'd_ managed to remain relatively normal... for an alien hunter who was dating an immortal from the future. Okay, maybe not so much.

He checked his watch. "Sundown is at 7:14 tonight," he informed them. "Jack wants to meet in the Plass at 8:30. Does that give you enough time?"

"Normal?" Spike repeated, as if the word tasted strange on his tongue. "I don't know when was the last time I met someone _normal_ ," he joked. 

"Enough time for what?" he asked with a leer shot at Buffy.

Buffy gave Spike a sidelong look of completely unamused amusement. "That'll be _fine_ , Ianto," she said in a very stern voice before turning her attention back to the man in a suit. She beamed a smile at him as she added, "I appreciate the whole knowing when sunset is thing. It's very Coffee God of you."

He flushed very slightly at her effusive praise. "I googled it," he replied mildly. He gestured towards the door behind him, taking a step backwards. "I'll see you later." He started to turn, then turned back to Buffy. "Um, Jack does want you ready for duty if anything happens. I'm, apparently, off of field work for a bit." He nodded his goodbyes and slipped out the door.

"So," Spike said as he watched Ianto leave, "drinks with your new mates. That should be... fun. I haven't taken in the nightlife of this part of the motherland in decades."

Buffy chuckled and her arms around one of his. "Cardiff nightlife is kinda like Sunnydale nightlife," she informed him happily. "Sometimes it's a little boring, and sometimes aliens crash the party. Keeps things interesting."

Spike looked down at Buffy with that wide sincere smile that was usually saved only for her. "Oh, aliens, sounds excitin'," he replied genuinely enthusiastic by the prospect.

" _They're_ like Sunnydale wildlife, too," she explained with a smirk. "All kinds of cute and cuddly, until they try to eat you." The last was accompanied by a very pointed look. He might be her boyfriend, but he was still a vampire, even if he didn't eat people anymore.

Spike read her look perfectly but had absolutely no shame. Instead he wrapped one arm around her waist the other around her shoulders, and with a wag of his eyebrows, bent her backwards and nibbled her neck with blunt teeth. 

"I can't really blame them. They can't help that you're so bloody delicious," he said as his playful attack reached the soft skin behind her ear. "Course, I have the distinct privilege of being the only one who _gets_ to _eat_ you."

She couldn't help but giggle at his actions, they were just so adorable and exactly what she needed after their long months apart from each other. "Careful, you," she warned teasingly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and threading the fingers of one hand through his hair. "Keep that up and you won't be getting the _VIP tour_ of my apartment."

"Now I might be concerned if I didn't know you so well, Slayer," he countered confidently. "See, I _know_ you can't resist my devilish charms," he stated with a rakish wink, as he stood up straight, righting her as well.

She pulled back a little as he stood them back up, letting her hands slide down his arms, and smiled very sweetly. Like a hunter stalking unsuspecting prey. "Oh really?" she asked with a laugh. "I'll show you resisting charms."

And then she punched him right in the nose. Because that was how the Slayer showed she loved her Vampire.


	23. Getting to Know You

Jack walked out of the tourist office door at 8:15pm. The light wind was coming off the water and he could smell the familiar smell of the Bay as he walked up Mermaid Quay towards the Plass to meet Ianto. Ianto had gone home to change, but Jack stayed behind to finish up a few things. It hadn't been a particularly productive day for anybody, but Jack didn't really care. As long as nothing rose out of the Rift and ate the city, he didn't mind the odd off day.  

He emerged into the Plass. It was dark outside, but there was light all around him from the restaurants and bars and clubs in the area. Gwen and Rhys were probably already at the bar. Once again, they'd gone ahead to get them a table. Once again, Jack and Ianto would wait for Buffy... only this time, Spike would also be with her. It was hard to get used to seeing that face without all of the connotations that Hart carried with him. Spike looked younger than Hart looked now, if you took a good look at him. He looked like Hart had looked back when he'd been Jack's partner at the Time Agency. Jack shrugged that line of thought - and Hart himself - right out of the front of his mind. He couldn't be dwelling on that kind of thing when they were supposed to be making Spike feel welcome.  

He looked up just in time to see Ianto walking towards him from the far side of the Plass and smiled. The sight of the young administrator had that effect on him often anymore. He'd tried to stop it, he really had; that feeling of warmth threatening to burst through his chest. He had managed not to feel it for a few decades. This time it refused to be quelled. He was starting to give in to it now.  

He noticed, when he got closer, that Ianto was wearing a navy blue cable-knit jumper over jeans. He knew why. The sleeves were just long enough to almost reach his knuckles. They covered the bottoms of his hands. They pretty much covered the bandages. Ianto had become increasingly self-conscious about them since Buffy's return and subsequent freak-out over the injury. Still, Jack thought appraisingly, he looked stunning in the thing.

  When he finally arrived, Jack greeted him, wordlessly, with a lingering kiss. Ianto looked at him afterwards, for a moment, with a slightly astonished expression. He wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic greeting. They'd seen each other only a half hour earlier.

  "Evening," Ianto finally said, a little breathlessly.  

Jack grinned. "Hi."

Buffy's hand was gripping Spike's as she tried to tug him along the street that wasn't quite bustling with nightlife, but it wasn't dead either. She knew he was probably just trying to enjoy the view (her, not the city), but she wanted to _not_ be late for meeting up with the team. She had a habit of being late, and she really did want to try breaking it.  

And she'd dressed up just for the occasion! Black shortish dress with heels, with a coat the same length as the dress; it might be a _tiny_ bit overkill for the type of bar they usually frequented, but it was her first evening out with her guy in months, and she wanted to celebrate. Plus, it served as a very subtle reminder for him to be on his best behavior.

Spike obediently followed Buffy back towards the Hub. For all his attempts at distraction, the slayer remained stalwart in her determination to be on time to meet the rest of her team. He had tried to convince her that no one would be surprised or blame them if they were late, but in the end he had finally put on the unfaded black jeans and blue button down she had laid out on the bed from the duffle he had retrieved from the visitor's office before they left.   

He was embarrassingly slayer whipped, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Jack and Ianto were standing by the water tower, talking, when Jack spotted Buffy and Spike coming towards them. He smiled and held his hand up in a brief wave, prompting Ianto to turn around to greet them as well. Ianto just gave them a nod and small smile as they arrived.

  "You know the drill," Jack said to Buffy, nodding in the direction of the bar they'd been to before. "Gwen and Rhys went ahead to get us a table." He gave Spike a conspiratorial smile. "Helps to compensate for what I like to refer to as 'Slayer Time'," he said with a wink.

Buffy quickly turned to point at finger at Spike in warning. "Don't you laugh at that," she commanded, her eyes narrowed. " _Or_ agree with it!" Turning back to Jack, she gave him a rather weak glare. "And I'll have you know, Slayer Time kicks Vampire Time's ass. If he'd had things his way, we'd have been _really_ late."

Spike’s grin, about to take shape, was quickly bitten back when Buffy's head whipped back at him.   

"Yes, but Vampire Time would have made us late for very different and much more _rewarding_ reasons," he interjected, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind what would have caused their tardiness had he gotten his way.

"I really don't suppose I'd have much to say about _that_ ," Jack commented suggestively, glancing at Ianto with a smirk. "We've been 'late' before," he added with a barely suppressed grin. Ianto rolled his eyes but looked vaguely amused.

  Jack gestured for Buffy and Spike to join them as he started to walk towards the bar and Ianto fell into step beside him.

  "So how long have you been working in India, Spike?" Jack asked curiously.

" _Too_ long," Buffy chimed in, looping her arm through Spike's and leaning into him a bit as they walked. She couldn't even begin to describe how amazingly wonderful it was just to _have him there_. She thought there might even be a _bounce_ in her step!

Spike reached over and placed his hand on the smaller hand that was currently curled around his bicep and squeezed it gently. It had definitely been too long.  

"Six weeks on this mission," he answered, "before that it was Suriname and before that was North Korea. They like to send me everywhere no one else who isn't out of their gourd wants to go," he shrugged, having accepted this long ago.

Of course they did. Spike wasn't immortal in the same sense that Jack was, but he was a _lot_ harder to kill than a human. They sent him on suicide missions because he'd probably come back when nobody else would. Jack wondered if they would care if he didn't. Did he matter to them, or was he an asset, the way Jack had been when he joined Torchwood?

  "That's a lot of traveling," Jack commented mildly. He noticed Ianto give him a slightly odd look. He knew the younger man could tell he wasn't speaking his mind. Jack _rarely_ refrained from speaking his mind. In this case, however, he wasn't about to bring up such an unpleasant discussion when Buffy actually looked happy for the first time since she'd returned from Cleveland.

Buffy nodded her agreement, not even trying anymore to keep the idiotically happy grin off her face. "We always keep in touch though, no matter where he goes," she added, trying to give them a fuller picture of things. "Except when he has to do the whole deep cover, secret identity stealth thing. But, other than that, we talk on the phone as much as we can, and meet up whenever we get the chance."

"What happened this past month isn't the norm," Spike continued. Of course it happened at the worst possible time as these things usually did, but that wasn't something to dwell on when they were supposed to be having a fun night out. "I usually only have to go deep cover when I'm infiltrating demon circles." He quickly vamped out, "Another reason I get some of the more _interestin'_ assignments," he added, as he shook off his game face.

Ianto looked very slightly alarmed by Spike's transformation, but Jack just smirked.

  "Useful, that," he commented, even as his fingers found Ianto's and intertwined almost of their own accord. "I bet they don't suspect a thing."

Buffy nudged Spike in the ribs with an elbow. "Show off," she muttered with a smile, clearly amused by his display. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him pull that trick.

Spike simply gave Buffy a well practiced look of innocence, and wrapped an arm over her shoulders, tucking her in tight against his side.

They arrived at the bar and it was just as crowded as it had been every time they'd come. Jack glanced around, looking for Gwen and Rhys. They were at a table to the left of the bar, in the corner. It was pretty much the exact opposite side of the room from where they'd sat the first time. Jack looked at Buffy and nodded towards the table before leading them through the crowd.

Buffy grinned at the awaiting couple and tugged Spike along, practically bouncing by the time they reached the table. "Hey, you two!" she greeted, and was happy when Gwen returned her enthusiastic smile.  

"You look nice, Buffy," Gwen complimented her teammate, who might as well be _glowing_ , she looked so happy. Turning to her husband, she made the introductions. "Rhys, this is Spike, Buffy's boyfriend. Spike, my husband, Rhys. I'm sure Buffy's told you about him being _normal_ ," she teased.  

The blonde in question shrugged without a shred of innocence. "I may have mentioned it. But it was with _love_ , Rhys, really. I adore your normalness."

  The poor man just smiled with indulgence and held his hand out to Spike. "Nice to finally meet Buffy's boyfriend," he told the other man. "She talks about you quite a bit."

"All the time," Jack agreed, taking his seat.

  " _Constantly_ ," Ianto intoned, sitting beside him.

  "Some days, it's like being stuck in a time loop," Jack remarked.  

"Only more repetitive," Ianto added.

  The slight air of amusement gave away the fact that they were teasing, despite their deadpan delivery.  

Jack glanced around the table. "So what's everyone drinking?" he asked. "Speak now or... well, the bar's over there," he said with a wave. "I don't play waiter a lot, so get your order in now while the getting's good!"

  Ianto looked at him with a bit of a frown.  Jack leaned over and spoke to him in a low tone that wouldn't be easily overheard, with one hand resting lightly on Ianto's knee. "You're not carrying six drinks with that hand. Let me. For once." His tone was firm, but kind. Ianto didn't answer, but he didn't argue. Jack sat up and looked around the table again. "Right. So. Orders?"

Thanks to his handy dandy vamp hearing Spike clearly heard Jack's words, but didn't draw any attention to them, instead taking the opportunity suddenly presented to him. He was nothing if not pragmatic.

  "I'll even help you there Capt'n. This round's on me," Spike volunteered, as he pulled Buffy's chair out for her, and assisted her in scooting it back towards the table. It was one of those few Victorian traits that remained ingrained in him, no matter how long he was dead. 

  “I suppose you’re going to make me order one of those poncy appletinis, right goldilocks?” he asked with a long suffering sigh, that was belied by adoration twinkling in his eyes that told anyone who cared to look that he would march up to the bar and order a flirtini with extra flirt if that’s what she asked of him.

Buffy grinned up at him. "I _love_ you," she said by way of an answer. He pulled this every time they went to a bar, though she did occasionally throw him a bone and order a rum and coke instead. But tonight wasn't one of those nights.

  Gwen chuckled at the exchange as she looked up at Jack. "Lager for Rhys, and a rum and coke for me, thanks."

 

Jack got up from his seat, letting his fingers trail across Ianto's shoulders as he passed behind his chair. He glanced at Spike as he came along side him on their way to the bar. "That's awfully neighbourly of you," he remarked, not entirely convinced it was purely an act of neighbourliness.

Spike simply raised one eyebrow and leaned against the bar while he waited for the overworked bartender to have a spare moment. His eyes wandered back over to their table and he watched silently for a moment as Buffy animatedly took part in what appeared to be some playful ribbing at Rhys's expense. 

  "She's happy," he finally said, glancing over at Jack.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, leaning forward with his forearms on the bar. "Since _you_ got here." He looked over at Spike. "Before that, she was pretty miserable, beating herself up over what happened in Cleveland and what happened here while she was gone. You know. Things beyond her control." Jack fiddled with a paper coaster that was lying on the bar. "As much as nobody here blamed her for any of it."

"No," Spike shook his head, the other man misunderstanding him. "She's _happy_. Here, in Cardiff. Working with all of you.” He looked at Jack. “The Slayer has the biggest heart I've ever seen, and she's loyal to a fault. Once she decides she loves you, there is no going back for her. She'll do anything for those she considers her family, and I mean anything. And that's what she's done here, she’s taken all of you into her family," Spike stated evenly. There was no jealousy in his tone; he was simply stating facts.

Jack nodded. "I know," he said, his tone matching Spike's, though he didn't clarify which of Spike's points he was addressing.   

He looked over at the table. Gwen was laughing at something Buffy had said. Ianto even had a bit of a smile on his face, though he was keeping his injured arm guardedly close to his body and, though it wouldn't be obvious to most people, Jack knew him well enough to see that he was still a little put out that he couldn't properly do his job. 

  "They feel the same way, if that's what you're asking," Jack informed Spike.

"I'm glad to hear it," Spike replied also watching the group dynamics. "There is _nothing_ more important to me than Buffy's happiness and it's taken her too long to find it. I don't want to see her lose it."

  "I'm trusting you with her," he said, turning to look Jack directly in the eyes. "She's had her heart broken by too many people she held close. I dare say that everyone in her life has a time or two, myself included," he admitted, a flash of pain surfacing in his eyes before he pushed it back down. "I don't want to see it happen again."   His gaze traveled back to his golden girl, "She's stronger than anyone I've ever known, it's easy to forget that she's still just a girl deep down."

"She's told me about her past," Jack said evenly. "I asked her here because I thought a fresh start with people I trust might be the solution to those kinds of problems." He returned Spike's unflinching gaze. "We care about her. As a _person_. She isn't some... 'asset' to us. That's all I can promise you."

Spike nodded, glad that that was established.   

"I'm also countin' on you to keep her safe," he added. "I'm not sayin' she can't take care of herself, because we all know she can. She's The bleedin' Slayer, but everyone needs someone to watch their back. If anythin' happens to my girl, you're the boss this time, you're the immortal one, it's you I'm holdin' responsible."  

"And let's face it," the blonde vampire laughed lightly, "we're both goin' to be around for a long time. I would have plenty of time to think of plenty of creative ways to make myself a nuisance." The words were said lightly, and anyone eavesdropping would certainly take them in jest, but there was a very real core of truth to Spike's joke.

_That_ was a slightly stickier wicket, as it were. Jack didn't say anything for a moment.  

"Listen, Spike," he finally said, a little wearily, turning to look at the vampire again. "I lost two people recently. I'm not going to pretend that this isn't dangerous work, but she _knows_ what she signed up for. Will I put her safety above my own? Absolutely. Every single time." He let the coaster fall from his hands to land on the bar. "But I brought her here to protect _them_ ," he added, glancing at the table. Ianto had been looking at Buffy, so he was facing the bar. He must have seen Jack look over. He raised his eyes to meet Jack's for a moment, then Jack looked away, back to Spike. Ianto was too good at reading his expression and likely could tell they were discussing something more serious than the drinks menu.  

"I stressed to her that I expect her to defend _herself_ , first and foremost, but she's made it clear to _me_ , no matter how many times I've said it, that she'll always put others before herself when the chips are down. The fact that she can't look after anyone if she's dead is an argument we've had many times. If you can persuade her to be a little more cautious self-preservation and a little less noble self-sacrifice, then please do. I'm done fighting her on it. I'll look after her to the best of my ability, but she's an adult and she's amazing at what she does and I'm not going to keep telling her how to do her job. She _knows_ what she's doing." He raised an almost challenging eyebrow at Spike. "And if something happens and you feel the need to come by here and do horrible things to me for a week or two... well, it probably wouldn't even be the worst month of my life, so go for it."   

He glanced up. The bartender was only a few customers away from them. He turned back to Spike. "I don't know what she's told you about me, but I can't die _ever_ , Spike. Not from anything. Compared to me, you're as mortal as they are," he explained calmly, with a nod towards their table. "If you get ideas in your head about dealing with me, you might want to factor that in." There was nothing light in the tone of that last sentence at _all_.

  Jack understood where Spike was coming from and he was happy to let Spike say it. Hell, if something happened to Buffy, he'd probably even be inclined to let Spike take it out on him a bit. God knows he'd be feeling like he deserved it, if how he felt after the losses of Tosh and Owen were anything to go by. Still, Jack could be dangerous and Spike needed to know he wouldn't be pushed around and that he wasn't afraid.

Spike narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, a biting retort on the tip of his tongue. He was as disinclined to respond well to not so veiled threats as Jack was, even if he _had_ started it. But before he could say anything that would probably get him in trouble later, he was cut off when the bartender finally made it to their end of the bar. The time it took to give the bartender their laundry list of an order, handing over his New Council expense account credit card to open up a running tab for the group, he'd had a chance rethink everything Jack just told him. 

  Leaning heavily against the bar as they waited for their drink order, he once more watched the group at the table, taken, as always, with the light Buffy seemed to exude when she was happy… but the knowledge that she was here because Jack had recently lost two team members and needed to protect the ones he had left, that even if she wasn’t working for Torchwood, she would only be happy if she was in some line of work that would involve her putting her life in danger on a daily basis wasn’t far from his mind. It never was.   

Spike sighed heavily, scratching at the nape of his neck. “Lovin’ that girl is goin’ to kill me. Again. There’s a reason Vamps don’t get attached to mortals.” He glanced at the man next to him, “You know just as well as I do how short a human life time is, I just want hers to last as long as possible.”

"I understand that," Jack told him. "Believe me." He refrained from glancing at the table when the frailty of human life had been brought to the forefront of his mind. "And I wasn't joking or condescending when I said I would do everything I can to keep her safe," he added, "but I don't have super powers. I just can't _die_." 

  He looked at Spike as the bartender put the drinks on the bar in front of them. "I don't want anything to happen to her, either."

Spike quickly threw back the double shot of whiskey he ordered in addition to his beer, the arrival of the alcohol signaling the end of the poncy man-to-man heart-to-heart portion of his evening. With a nod to Jack that could have meant anything from a show of acceptance, or approval, or to simply grab the glasses closest to him, Spike picked up the four glasses closest to _him_ and, with preternatural grace and speed, weaved in and out of the tables as he made his way back to their group.

Jack smirked and shook his head, picking up the drinks and arriving back at the table well after Spike, since he had to move at a normal human speed. He sat down next to Ianto and pushed his beer towards him. Spike had grabbed the other four drinks, so Jack only had his own and Ianto's.   

 

"So what have I missed?" Jack asked with a smile, looking around the table.

Rhys, after finishing a long gulp of his drink, looked up at Jack with wide eyes. "Did you know Dracula's real?" he questioned the man who couldn't die, because obviously Jack knew all about the weird stuff, so he'd know about this too, if anyone did. "Cape, fangs," he made curved finger-fangs to illustrate this, "bug-eating servants and all?"  

Gwen gave her husband a consoling pat on the back and a sympathetic smile. She'd gotten used to weird stuff cropping up, and even weirder stuff since Buffy had come into their lives. "Buffy was just telling us about the first time she met that particular," her voice hushed a bit, "vampire." She did try to be a _bit_ careful when out in public, now and then.

  "Gwen, seriously," Buffy laughed with a little shake of her head, "I think the people close enough to hear you are too drunk to care if you talk about vampires, aliens, or an invasion of possessed lawn gnomes. You don't have to do the secretive voice, _especially_ when talking about Dracula. He's got a PR rep!"

Passing out the drinks in his hands, Spike moved his chair closer to Buffy's before sitting, draping one arm casually over the back of her chair. Sitting back in his chair in a well practiced sprawl, rolling his eyes at the mention of Drac and Rhys's reaction to the so called _Dark Prince_.   

"Yeah he's real, unfortunately," he scoffed. "Soddin' wanker still owes me eleven pounds and that was just after the turn of the century. Factor in inflation that berk owes me a pretty penny."

Buffy laughed again, putting a hand to her forehead for a moment in amused exasperation; she'd heard this rant more than a few times before.

  "I know, hon," she acknowledged his grumblings. "He's stupid, poncey, ruined things for vamps, _and_ he owes you money." She couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face, she really couldn't. "I'm sorry he didn't stay dead the first time I killed him. I really did try. But hey, I'll pass on the word and next time Xander goes for a visit to his castle, he can-"  

Buffy's words cut off abruptly as she remembered what she'd learned just that morning. There wasn't going to be any chance for her to pass on word of anything, certainly nothing as trivial as this. Things were really done for between her and the Scoobies... She forced a small smile and took a sip of her drink, leaning closer to Spike without even realizing.

Jack realized why Buffy had stopped talking so abruptly and turned the conversation away from her to cover it.  

"Real?" Jack scoffed. "Not only do I _know_ it, Rhys, but it's been suggested to me that I exude a similar _thrall_ ," he said, giving Buffy a mock-pointed look.  "And nobody who's heard this has disagreed," Ianto added helpfully.  

Jack narrowed his eyes at Ianto playfully and gave his shoulder a little shove.

Rather than bring more attention to the failings Xander and the rest of the Scoobies had as friends, Spike simply ran his hand over her shoulders and down her arm, taking her hand in his under the table entwining their fingers and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

  "Yes," Spike added with a curiously raised brow, continuing Jack's redirection of conversation, "I've heard so much about those 51st century pheromones of yours Capt'n."

Buffy gave Spike a small, grateful smile while Gwen groaned loudly.  "Oh, don't get him started," the Welsh woman grumbled to the English vampire.

Jack just grinned. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean by that," he told her.  "I do," Ianto volunteered, deadpan.  

Jack laughed and leaned back in his chair. "Fine!" he said. "But he _asked_!"

Spike hid his grin behind his pint as he watched the group interact.

Buffy pressed her lips together in an attempt to keep her giggles safely repressed. It didn't work. "They do this _all_ the time," she informed Spike with a big smile. "Jack is his Jack self, Ianto somehow manages to put up with it, and Gwen wonders why she even bothers."  

Gwen snorted. "She's right," she acknowledged to her husband, who leaned in to give her a kiss. Rhys could be a real romantic when he gave a good effort.

" _Somehow_?" Jack scoffed in response to Buffy's observation about Ianto.  

Ianto looked at Jack. "Well. We're very discreet."  

"Oh, right," Jack said, as though Ianto had just reminded him of the fact. "'Discretion' is my middle name."  

"It does have a nicer ring to it than your self-professed middle name from last week."

  "Nobody needs to know about that," Jack told him.  

"Quite right," Ianto agreed readily, taking a sip of his lager.

  "It suited me though," Jack relented with smirk.

  "It did, yeah," Ianto said simply.

 

Spike looked at Buffy with an amused smirk at her co-workers antics. "As long as nobody-" he caught himself before he could bring up one of any of the many mishaps and debacles that stemmed from a night out with the Scoobies.  

 "So, has Buffy ever told you why she doesn't drink beer?" he asked the group at large, figuring that the best way to draw attention away from his near slip would be to put his girl on the spot.

Buffy blinked, thinking she'd heard wrong because Spike _wouldn't_... Yes. Yes he would.  

She turned to her boyfriend with wide eyes and muttered, "Don't you dare. Don't you _dare_!" And, because she knew that, ultimately, it was a losing battle she was fighting, and her new little family would now insist on hearing the story and would never ever ever stop bugging her about it until they knew... She let her forehead meet the table and whined in proper Buffy fashion, "It wasn't _my_ fault! It was the wacky beer, it made me do it..."

Jack exchanged an arched eyebrow with Ianto, then they both looked at Buffy and Spike with _great_ interest. Jack leaned forwards in his seat.  " _Do_ tell," he purred wickedly.

The closest thing he had to an evil grin these days spread slowly across Spike's face. Oh, he _dared_ alright. 

  "Buffy had a run in with some enchanted beer her first year at university. Turned her into Buffy B.C." he began, the amusement clear in his voice. "I didn't actually get to see it myself, since we were still enemies at the time and I was off being evil elsewhere, but Cave Buffy was the talk of Willy's for weeks. I heard there was even some clubbing involved. Perhaps you'd like to fill us in on the rest of your prehistoric night, luv?" he asked playfully, he knew he was going to get it later, but that wouldn't stop him from enjoying it now.

Buffy sat back in her chair again and glared at the love of her life. Yes, he was so going to get it later. As in _not_ getting it. Pouting, she mumbled, "Beer's gross, anyway," she downed the rest of her appletini in one go.

Jack laughed while Ianto tried _not_ to develop a very amused expression and failed miserably.  

"See what happens when you hang around the magic types?" Jack pointed out to her. "Stick with us and the aliens."

  Ianto gave him a look. "Yes. We only end up with pheromone based spores that spur a spontaneous office orgy. _That's_ never awkward the next morning," he said flatly.  

Jack smirked. "Come on, I think that was a great team building exercise."

Spike was busy nuzzling Buffy's neck in a bid for forgiveness, so it took a moment for Jack and Ianto's last exchange to sink in.   

"Oi!" he exclaimed looking at Buffy. "No orgies," he ordered, "especially if I'm not there." He stopped and reconsidered, "And even then. I don't really do that anymore."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at Spike and then shook her head. "I don't want to know," she commented, and pushed her empty glass toward the center of the table. 

  Meanwhile, Rhys was in the middle of his own orgy-related outburst. "Spontaneous office _what_?" he demanded, his voice raising to do its little squeaky thing as he turned to address his wife. Gwen, for her part, waved it off as nothing at all.  

"Was before I joined up, don't worry, sweetheart," she assured the anxious man, who immediately relaxed.

  "Oh? Well... alright then," he said with a nod. "And you won't ever?"  

"Of course not." Rhys really was a pretty easy-going guy about most things.

Jack snorted and Ianto pressed his lips together, looking at the Williamses a bit awkwardly.  

"We didn't exactly get to choose whether or not we participated," Jack pointed out. "You can't _promise_ him _that_."  

"Alien spores," Ianto reminded them.  

"The biosample container kinda..." His voice trailed off and he looked to Ianto for help.  

"Exploded," Ianto said firmly.  

"That wasn't the word I was looking for," Jack told him.

  "It's what _happened_."  

"Well, if you put it bluntly," Jack conceded grudgingly.

Buffy was slightly amused to see Rhys' expression turn into something resembling a kid who'd just been told Santa wasn't real. But only slightly! Really!

  Gwen narrowed her eyes at the troublesome duo and practically growled, "You are _not_ helping!"

Jack put up his hands in an 'Excuse _me_ ' sort of gesture and Ianto just shrugged. They could, he supposed, lie to Rhys if Gwen really _wanted_ them to.   

He and Jack looked at each other for a moment, but Jack's expression faltered and he started laughing. It was Rhys' face that did it. The look on Rhys' face. Dammit.  

Ianto looked back at Gwen. "Well... it's what happened," he pointed out a little lamely, since Jack was still trying to stifle a giggle.

"These things, sometimes they happen," Spike shrugged casually. "But not to you," he added as an aside to the woman next to him.

Buffy chuckled and leaned over to kiss Spike's cheek. "I'll make sure to never orgy without you there to stop it," she vowed with a smile before leaning back and changing the subject.

  "So, Spike's gonna be sticking around for a while," she announced to her teammates and Rhys, almost a little hesitantly. "We were hoping it'd be alright for him to hang out at the Hub some days. Just while I'm there," she added quickly, really wishing she hadn't already finished her drink, "so we'd be able to at least see each other a little bit." Her gaze darted over the others' faces before resting on Jack's, watching his expression.

Jack nodded, his expression neutral. "I figured as much," he answered easily. "It's not a problem."   

Though he did remember one tiny sticking point from the impromptu staff meeting. He didn't look at Ianto; there was no need to bring him into the middle of the issue. "Point of order, though," he added, as though it had just occurred to him. "I do _live_ there. When, exactly, were you two sun-avoiding lovebirds planning to arrive in the morning?"

"Oh," Buffy said, as if she really hadn't expected the issue to come up, "that's no big." She even gave a little wave of dismissal. "We've already got it all planned out. We'll head out a bit before sunrise, grab some breakfast... somewhere, and hang out in the tourist office for a few hours until when I usually come in."  

She gave both Jack and Ianto very pointed looks. "Believe me, I _do_ remember that you live there, and I _don't_ want to know what you two get up to after hours. So we'll be staying upstairs until it's at least somewhat safe."  

Gwen didn't even bother trying to stop the "Ha!" that burst out on its own.

Ianto frowned slightly when Gwen made her contribution, but Jack just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

  "That wasn't morning," Jack reminded the former policewoman. " _That_ was the middle of the night."

  "And completely uncalled for," Ianto added, and it wasn't clear whether he meant her most recent editorial comment on the matter or the intrusion it referred to.

Spike was glad to hear that the Torchwood crew didn't seem to have a problem with him hanging out for a while. Not that he would lose any sleep if they weren't thrilled with the idea, it wasn't as if not being wanted had ever deterred him before, after all he'd lived in Sunnydale for years. But he wanted to spend some time with his girl, and it would make Buffy's life more pleasant if everyone was happy.   

He saw Buffy glance at her empty glass and drained the rest of his own. "Anyone else ready for round two?" he asked, offering to go get more.

Buffy leaned over to set her head on Spike's shoulder for a moment. "How about a rum and coke this time?" she requested with a smile. "Easy on the rum. I'm back on duty and not crashing demon bars to watch you play kitten poker," she teased, remembering the day with fondness now that so many years had passed.

Jack was already getting up. "I'll give you a hand," he said. He wasn't anxious to repeat the Awkward Conversation Of Laying Down The Law, but he wanted to make sure there was no room for Ianto to volunteer.

Spike smirked at the memory of that night. There was nothing more adorably hilarious than a completely snockered Slayer… that and he hadn't played a good game of kitten poker in years.   

"Anyone else want to change their drink orders?" he asked, standing with a nod at Jack when he also stood. "It's on me," he paused to playfully earmuff Buffy's ears with his hands, "well it's on the Council, but that just makes 'em taste better."

Buffy swatted at Spike's hands like he was a fly and needed to go bother someone else. "Hey, I know you use the Council's card for all kinds of stuff," she accused with amusement. "I've _seen_ your expense reports, mister. Team trips to the bar are _not_ company policy."   

She paused and glanced at Jack. "Yet another reason to be glad I joined Torchwood," she added with a grin.  

Gwen and Rhys laughed at the joke. There had certainly been more than a few of these outings over the months. "We'll just have the same, thanks, mate," Rhys said with a chuckle, slipping his arm around Gwen's shoulders and giving her an affectionate squeeze. It made Gwen smile and Buffy loved to see it light up her face.

Spike laughed, guilty as charged and completely unrepentant as he leaned down to drop a kiss to Buffy's temple. "What can I say, sweetness? I just so look forward to Georg's biweekly aneurisms,” he joked, speaking of the weasely accountant employed by the NC who thought that maybe Spike just didn’t understand what an expense account was for and that through repetitive and increasingly incensed phone calls the council’s resident vampire would see the errors of his spending ways.

Jack gave Buffy an innocent look. "It's not company policy!" he protested. "Attendance at these exercises is entirely voluntary."  

Ianto looked at him a little oddly. "Exercises?" he echoed.

  "I see it as sort of a team building exercise," Jack explained.

  "That's what you called the _orgy_ ," Ianto reminded him. Jack just quirked an eyebrow at him as he smiled and started towards the bar.  

Ianto's brow knit slightly in a combination of suspicion and consternation. "That means something different in your time, doesn't it?" he said to Jack's back, referring to the term 'team building exercise'. There were days when he _really_ didn't want to know what Time Agent Training involved. Or how many people Jack had used it on. The latter in particular.

  Jack shot him a wicked grin over his shoulder and kept walking.

  Ianto looked between Buffy and the Williamses. "Fifty-first century vocabulary lessons tend to come free if you're paying attention," he told them in a carefully even tone, before draining his glass. 

  He pointedly didn't comment on Spike's view of expense accounts, as long as the vampire was abusing the New Council's expenses and not Torchwood's.   

He watched Spike and Jack get to the bar, then looked at Buffy. "So... this 'kitten poker'... this has to do with that 'basket of kittens' thing we were talking about... before, does it?" He'd almost managed to say 'Canary Wharf' casually, in conversation, but it wouldn't come out.

Buffy grinned and nodded. "Yepyep," she confirmed, then backtracked when she saw the confused look on Gwen's and Rhys' faces. "Demons use kittens instead of money when they play poker," she explained. "A sure thing means they bet a basketful. And, before you ask like Ianto did before, they use kittens because they taste better than full-grown cats or any other animals." She made a face to express her own blechness at the idea. "So I've heard, anyway."

 

Spike arrived at the bar and quickly made his presence known since he had already had the chat with the Captain that he’d wanted and saw no need not to receive prompt service. 

  "Oi, mate!" he called, bringing the bartenders attention. "Round two of the same, but swap the martini for a rum and coke, light on the booze, heavy on the ice."  

"You know," he said to Jack as he drummed his fingertips rhythmically against the counter as he waited for their order, "it’s almost a shame Buffy is pacing herself. The slayer, when she snockered, is something unlike you've ever seen," he grinned with amused reminiscence. "You should ask her about the first time she was in Amsterdam sometime..." he paused. "And by sometime, I mean after I leave."

Jack smirked and leaned on the bar. "What makes you think I haven't seen her 'snockered'?" he asked, his voice full of teasing implication.

 

  "I can guess how you probably met," Ianto said to Buffy, glancing over at Spike, "being a vampire slayer. How did you... get past that?" he asked curiously.

Buffy gave a little shrug. "We tried to kill each other for a while, then Spike was out of commission or out of town for another while, and the final while he couldn't kill humans, so I guess I kinda felt sorry for him or something," she explained. "I decided I didn't like the old Watcher's Council's proclamation that if it was a demon, I was supposed to kill it. There are lots of demony types out there that don't hurt humans, so we leave each other alone."  

Rhys leaned in a bit closer, trying to be all confidential and secret meetings-y. "But he's a _vampire_ ," he stressed, his eyes a little wide. "He drinks blood! He does drink blood, doesn't he?"

  Gwen tried not to roll her eyes at her husband. It wasn't his fault he didn't deal with weird day in and day out.  

The blonde giggled a little and nodded. "Yep, he has to drink blood to live," she affirmed. "But any blood will do, really. I've already set up an account with a local butcher, actually. He can eat and drink other stuff too, of course, it's not a blood-exclusive thing, he's just picky," she said with that look wives get when talking about their husbands. Even if she and Spike weren't married, she sometimes felt like they were. Wished they could be. It still meant something to her, if not exactly what it once had.

"So he's quite high-maintenance, then," Ianto joked quietly.

Buffy laughed openly and happily. "But we won't tell _him_ that," she joked back, sharing a meaningful look with Gwen that had Rhys looking a little frightened.

 

One eyebrow slowly raised at Jack's comment. "Have you?" he asked, wondering if perhaps there was a story the Slayer had neglected to tell him. He glanced behind him at the table, where it was clear by everyone's conspiratorial postures that they were talking about him, not that he was bothered by that. He was used to being the topic of conversation wherever he went. He liked it that way.

Jack smiled cryptically. "I'm not saying I have or I haven't," Jack told him nonchalantly. "I'm just saying that that's a lot to assume." 

Spike narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing he was being baited. He was trying so hard to be on his best behavior and make polite conversation for Buffy's sake… hell, he was making an effort to be right out friendly, something he never usually cared much about, but the captain wasn't making it easy. 

  "Well," he replied flatly, "then you would either know what I was talkin' about, or you wouldn't."   

He turned to see what their drinks where, "Hey, while we're young!" he shouted down to the barkeep who was just about to get to their order.

Jack laughed and slapped Spike on the shoulder good-naturedly, while the bartender simply shot the vampire a dirty look.

  "Looks like we're going to have to wait our turn," Jack said with a shrug.

"I think it'd be faster to eat 'im, hide the body and get the drinks myself," Spike retorted only half jokingly.

"Possibly," Jack agreed, "though I think Buffy might frown on it, since we frequent this place." He smirked. "And my resident body-hider would be none too happy either."  

The bartender ambled down and began to prepare their drinks, giving Spike another unimpressed look.

"He's still breathin' ain't he?" Spike replied with a smirk.

  He turned to watch their drinks being poured, and flashed just a bit of fang when the bartender glanced up, satified when the young man's eyes widened before going back to mixing drinks at twice the speed. This was the type of service he was used to and expected to enjoy.

 

Buffy glanced over at the bar when she heard Spike's shout; it had that _particular_ tone to it, though she knew that was as far as it would go. Spike really could keep a hold of his temper when he had proper motivation, and being forced to sleep on her not-too-comfortable couch (she'd made him try it out just to give the threat credence) was just enough to do it.  

The Slayer turned back to the table of coworkers and friends and zeroed in on one particularly inquisitive Welshman. Two could play at that game. "So, Ianto," she inquired innocently, "what exactly do you and Jack do for _fun_? Other than the obvious."  

Gwen pressed her lips together to keep her grin in check and Rhys concentrated on finishing off his first drink before the second arrived.

Ianto looked at her for a second, feeling uncomfortably like he was 'on the spot', as it were. "We... go out sometimes," he offered almost cautiously. He may have been slightly more worried about where Buffy was going with her line of questioning than what he was actually telling them. She was sneaky in her teasing. He'd learned to be most suspicious of her most innocent tone.

"Oh, come on," Buffy pressed, looking much like a teenager trading gossip over a box of jelly donuts in the high school library. Okay, maybe not the analogy most people would use, but it worked in her case. "Gimme some details. Dinner? Does he ever try to pull out your chair? He seems like the gallant type."  

Gwen was really trying not to giggle at the way Ianto seemed on the verge of either running away or squirming.

  Buffy continued without pause. "What about movies? Do you two make out in the back of the theater? Spike and I tried once, but we discovered we get a bit carried away and suddenly we had to buy the theater a new row of seats because the guys in front of us were demons who couldn't mind their own business."

Ianto looked at her oddly and glanced towards the bar, but help didn't seem to be particularly imminent. Well, it wasn't imminent _enough_. And, frankly, 'help' would probably just laugh.  

"He doesn't pull out my chair," Ianto explained with carefully controlled patience, "because I'm not a _girl_." He was always vaguely insulted when he had to point that out to people. Jack may have been all... sexy pheromones and manliness, but he was pretty sure that he was also pretty man-shaped. "And there have never been demons at the cinema," he finished quickly, glancing towards the bar again and avoiding the first half of that question.

"So you _do_ make out at the movies!" Buffy confirmed for herself, which caused Gwen to finally burst into giggles. Rhys was trying not to pay attention to the whole thing. He almost felt a little sorry for Ianto, but no way did he want to bring Buffy's questions down on his own head. He wasn't _that_ stupid.  

Buffy waved off the other bit Ianto had said. "And I only asked about the chair because I remember that Jack lived through the whole 'gentleman' century. Not that Jack was necessarily a _gentleman_ ," she added as an aside, which brought on a new chorus of giggles from the Williams Peanut Gallery, "but still, in my mind, if Jack Harkness wants you to know he 'fancies' you," she was really trying with the Brit-speak!, "he does everything he can. Just watch, I'll bet he tries something like that next time you two have a fight." She paused, suddenly thinking of another point, and in fact pointed her finger at Ianto. "And you don't have to be a _girl_ to have your partner do something nice for you! Two of the guy Watchers at the NIC are a couple, and they're always doing sweet things for each other in between demon hunts."

So one minute it was all about making out at the cinema, which he could handle, and he was about to point out that _everyone_ makes out at the cinema, when suddenly she was inventing their entire private life, verbally, for the audience. He frowned.  

"I highly doubt they pull each other's chairs out in restaurants," he said in an extremely unconvinced tone before stopping, because something else she said clicked. "When you say 'in your mind'," he started, a little suspiciously, "do you mean you made it up or you have occasion to _know_ something like that?" He didn't think, for a moment, that Jack and Buffy had ever even _entertained_ being involved with _each other_ , but they were trapped in the... wherever for a while. What, exactly, did Jack get up to? It wasn't like he'd told them any of the details.

Buffy looked at Ianto in confusion, not understanding at first what he was talking about. Why would she 'have occasion' to know... Oh. Oh Ianto. Buffy's expression saddened for a moment, like she was feeling almost guilty about something, and she started to reach a hand across the table to take Ianto's.  

"Ianto, I-"

  And then the boys were coming back and it was the wrong time and Buffy knew she would have to _make_ a right time. Sometime. But not tonight.

 

"So, did we miss anythin' interestin'?" Spike asked grandly as he passed out refreshed drinks and sat down, dropping an arm around Buffy's shoulder and pulling her into his side with a gentle squeeze.

Ianto looked up with something Jack would _almost_ categorize as 'relief' when he approached. He wondered briefly, and with a vague amusement, what the girls had been ganging up on their Coffee God about. He put a fresh pint of lager on the table in front of Ianto, then sat down in his chair with his own drink.  

"How could anything interesting have been going on if we weren't at the table!" Jack joked in response to Spike's question.

"If they were talkin' about _us_ , of course," Spike replied, matching the captain's tone.

Gwen giggled, feeling the slightest bit tipsy from her drink, and leaned into Rhys. "Aren't you two brilliant," she muttered with a roll of her eyes, and Rhys hid his smirk with a turn of his head.  

Buffy had to plaster a smile on her face in response. "Nothing too interesting," she concluded in a light tone.

Ianto just took a relieved drink of his beer and refrained from commenting, which earned a slightly more questioning look from Jack, but he didn't ask. He looked at Buffy, who'd probably been the ringleader of whatever Coffee-God-torture had gone on in his absence, and raised an eyebrow.  

"Yeah, well your significant other, there, was provoking the bartender, so your drink is probably considerably less light on the rum than he asked for."

Spike didn't verbally confirm or deny the allegation, but the look of practiced innocence plastered across his face, didn't do much to convince anyone of his blamelessness.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at Spike before taking a tiny sip of the drink. Her face contorted into a lemon-esque expression and she had to force her eyes open. "Wow," she said with a bit of a cough. "Yeah, I can taste a tiny bit of coke. Maybe. Somewhere in there."

"Yeah, he seemed like the petty revenge type," Jack noted with a smirk. "Or maybe he just fancies your girl and wants to get her all liquored up," he added mischievously.

"He didn't know who the drink was for," Spike countered without missing a beat, "maybe it's your boy he's got eyes for."

Gwen and Buffy shared a look and a giggle at Ianto's expense. Rhys had taken a gulp of his drink and almost choked on it.

Ianto just gave Spike an odd look before turning a slight glare on Rhys's near-spit-take. _Jack_ fancied him, presumably. Was the bartender really so much of a bloody stretch of the imagination?

  "Then he has even better taste than I was giving him credit for," Jack said breezily, though he set an almost protective hand on Ianto's knee under the table.

Spike just smirked before sliding back his chair, getting up and going to the bar.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You are such a troublemaker," she informed her boss, though it was weird to think of him that way. Yes, he was in charge, but they were a team more than an office crew.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. _He_ wasn't the one going back up to the bar for the express _purpose_ of making trouble. He had, however, made enough trouble already and Ianto didn't seem particularly amused at having been dragged into it.

  Ianto just watched Spike walk up to the bar with a slightly furrowed brow, then looked at Buffy. "What is he doing?" he asked, unable to keep the alarm _entirely_ out of his voice. He was going to make a scene, of course. He was going up there to make a _scene_.

Gwen and Rhys both heard the alarm in Ianto's voice and turned to watch Spike, slight frowns on their faces. The frowns turned into confused ones when Buffy promptly leaned onto the table and started giggling.

  Oh, Ianto. So much to learn.

Jack knew that, whatever Ianto was worried about, Buffy wouldn't _laugh_ at something she thought would genuinely upset him. He gave Ianto's knee a squeeze and, when Ianto looked at him, shook his head slightly to tell him not to worry about it.

  The gesture relieved Ianto's tension somewhat, but when his eyes left Jack's, he avoided everyone else's and took a sip of his beer.

"Wot?" Spike asked when he returned to the table with a glass of coke in one hand and an empty tumbler in the other.  

He was slightly taken aback at the intensity with which everyone except for Buffy was watching his return from the bar. With exaggerated movements since he had everyone's attention, he took the Slayer's too strong drink, poured a fourth of it into the empty glass and then topped it off with the straight coke, stirred it quickly with the straw and set the remixed drink back in front of Buffy.   

"What were you all expectin'?" he asked, since that was clearly not it.

Buffy smiled as she took a sip of her new drink and made a refreshed and slightly smacking, "Aaah," sound afterward. She leaned in to set a quick kiss on Spike's lips as thanks before putting her head on his shoulder. "They haven't quite figured out yet that you're not a big bad _mean_ vampire," she explained, fully understanding how her friends could jump to those thoughts when they didn't know him all that well. She hoped that would change soon.

"We were just worried they were going to charge you for that," Jack replied easily, nodding towards what had been the glass of Coke. "I hope you informed them you weren't pleased with your order. I think they have a one hundred percent satisfaction guarantee policy here."

"Oh yes, I'm sure," Spike deadpanned towards Jack. "And I'm still a Big Bad Vampire, and there is a whole hoard Grrk'll beasts that would agree if I hadn't killed them all last week," he said to in response to Buffy's statement that he was one of those fluffy vampires.

Buffy hmphed. "I didn't say you weren't a Big Bad Vampire, I said you weren't _mean_ ," she corrected, not feeling any need whatsoever to move from her very comfortable spot.

  Gwen, who was feeling very relaxed by now, decided to take a page from Buffy's book and used Rhys' shoulder for a pillow as well. Or well, she tried. It would have worked brilliantly had he not leaned forward at just that moment; she slid sideways behind him with a disgruntled noise.

Jack and Ianto exchanged a skeptical glance, both watching Gwen until she managed to right herself. 

  "Okay. I think this round is about enough fun for one night," Jack told them, addressing the entire table. "Most of you have work tomorrow."  

Frankly, he thought, the evening could have gone better (he was willing to accept some of the blame there), but it could have been worse. Nobody had stormed out of the bar and nobody had eaten the bartender and, by the look of things, they were going to have lots of time to get used to having Spike around.

Spike just shrugged at Jack's pronouncement that the night was coming to an end. He had made nice with Buffy's new mates and now all he really wanted to do was to get his girl back to her flat so he could show her just how much he'd missed her, so really the faster this portion of the night wrapped up, the better.

Buffy chuckled and sat up again so she could take a longer drink of her now slightly rummified coke. "Yay work," she pronounced with a smile, which earned a groan from Gwen.  

Rhys laughed at his poor wife and slung his arm around her shoulders. "Think it's best we get you home soon, Gwen," he told her gently. "Still a few hours of the night left," he added suggestively, which earned him a shocked but smiling jaw-drop from the woman in question.

Once the drinks were done and Ianto had stood up to help Jack into his coat, Jack leaned over the table and offered his hand to Spike one more time.  

"It was nice meeting you, Spike," he said good-naturedly. "See you tomorrow."

"You too," Spike replied shaking Jack's hand, not even squeezing too hard. "Tomorrow."  Turning to the woman next to him, whose cheek had made its way back onto his shoulder, he kissed the top of her head and asked, "Are you ready to go, kitten?"

Buffy nodded a little dopily and slipped her hand into his. "Yeah, let's go home," she said quietly. She'd let it be his home, if he wanted, for however long he wanted. She'd cherish their moments together like nothing else she ever had before.

  Gwen and Rhys were the last to get up from the table, bringing up the rear of the group and watching their happy friends wander off together. It made Gwen happy to see _them_ happy, and Rhys was just glad his wife was in a good mood. After seeing how she could be when she'd been pregnant with the alien baby the day of their wedding, he knew very well that it was best not to get on Gwen's bad side.   He reasoned this was how he'd survived the honeymoon in one whole, unmarred piece.

Jack took Ianto's uninjured hand once they were outside the bar and pulled him to the side to let the other two couples pass.

  "Good night!" he called after them all, one last time, before he and Ianto walked back along the darkened boardwalk towards the Hub.


	24. Morning Routine

Ianto left Jack in his office with his coffee and a danish to bring a mug of non-fat mocha and a mug of hot chocolate on a silver tray up the lift to the tourist office just before nine in the morning, as he'd done every day for over a week. The hidden door in the wall slid back and allowed him entrance to the tight space where Spike sat on the floor with his back against the counter and Buffy curled up in his lap, sound asleep.   "Morning," Ianto told them mildly, setting the tray on the counter. He looked down at where Buffy had yet to stir before turning his attention to Spike. "She's an astoundingly heavy sleeper," he remarked. Either that or, morning after morning, she just _pretended_ not to hear him come in.

"Mornin'," Spike replied glancing up from the paper he was reading while Buffy slept. 

"She's not usually this heavy of a sleeper," he replied, folding the paper with one hand, while the other continued to stroke her hair soothingly. "She's just had a lot of late nights lately," he said with a smirk.

Ianto snorted slightly. "Jack says she can have until 9:30," he told Spike, passing on the message he was given. "Since last night's hunt ran so late."

"Oh right, the hunt, that was fun too," he grinned, reaching up for the mug of hot chocolate, taking care not to disturb the woman settled on his lap.

When Ianto saw him straining slightly to reach the tray without moving, he grabbed it and lowered it to within Spike's reach until the vampire could take the mug.

"'Fun' is one word for it," Ianto said dryly, putting the tray back on the counter. "But I suppose chasing flesh-eating monsters from space is more fun for people who are less susceptible to contusions, lacerations and _death_ ," he pointed out, turning back towards the hidden door, which still stood open.

"You're probably right about that one mate," he conceded with a shrug, taking a sip of cocoa and raising it towards the administrator in thanks before turning back to his paper.

Ianto gave a small shrug and headed back down the hallway to the lift, allowing the secret door to slide closed behind him. 

He thought over the previous night's mission, capturing a very dangerous creature, brought to Cardiff courtesy of the Rift. He'd been in the Hub, tracking the creature's movements for the field team. Jack hadn't allowed him back into the field yet, though his injuries were healing. Sometimes he missed it... but the previous night had not been one of those times. Hunting weevils with Jack was one thing. They were a known quantity in strength, speed and proclivities. The creature the previous night was not and had turned out to be ten times more dangerous than even the most crazed weevil. It was probably a good thing that three-quarters of the team hunting it was not easily harmed.

He stepped through the cog door back into the Hub and made a coffee for himself before heading back up to Jack's office. Jack was signing some documents from the pile Ianto had left him, but took the opportunity to stop when Ianto walked in.

"Don't let me interrupt you," Ianto said with a bit of a smile, leaning on the door frame.

Jack grinned and took a sip of his coffee. "How are Buffy and Spike this morning?" he asked.

Ianto shrugged with one shoulder. "Spike was Spike and Buffy was asleep."

 

When Buffy woke around ten minutes later, she had a slight smile curling up the corners of her lips. Her gaze fell on the blonde man above her and the smile grew. She could smell coffee and chocolate and knew Ianto had already been by with their morning round; Spike didn't seem to be in a hurry though, so Jack must have been having a good morning.

"That was a nice dream," she murmured, in no hurry to move, even if one of the Coffee God's drinks waited for her if she did.

"Mornin' luv, welcome back to the land of the livin'," he greeted when she stirred, reaching out to run a couple fingers down her cheek. "Dreamin' about me then were ya?" he asked cockily, reaching out to grab her coffee to bring it easily within her reach for when she wanted it.

"Mmhmm," she smiled as she nodded lazily, stretching like a cat before taking her drink. She didn't sit up yet though, just looked up at the literal man of her dreams with a contented expression.

"I was back in heaven," she told him without hesitation, the topics not causing her the discomfort and remembered pain it normally did. "It was warm and soft... And you were there with me."

"Anywhere where you are, is my heaven, kitten," he replied giving her that smile that he saved just for her. He was mildly surprised at the location of her dream but was more than pleased to hear he was included. Although he couldn't help but be saddened by what the dream represented, what she had lost.

Buffy grinned up at him before carefully sitting up in a movement graceful enough to not spill coffee all over herself. After a long drink of her caffeine-coated chocolate, she let out a deep and happy sigh. "I love mornings like that."

"Well the boss man wants you at 9:30," he mentioned downing the rest of his hot chocolate, passing the news along. "So mornin' is just about over."

A groan was her only response to that as she hid her face against his shoulder.

"Or we could make a break for it," he offered at her underwhelming response to the idea of work. "Could play hooky for the day. There has to a blanket around here somewhere."

Buffy chuckled quietly at the idea. "And Jack would suddenly pop up and give me one of those disapproving looks of his before informing me that if I want vacation time, I have to go through Ianto's paperwork channels," she said with a shake of her head. "No thanks. I'll take the alien hunting."

"Do I look like I do paperwork?" he replied, one eyebrow raised at the idea of going through the proper channels for anything. "But if you inist, I suppose alien hunting it is," he conceeded with a heavy sigh.

"That's my cuddly fanged teddy bear," she teased, wrapping her free arm around him to give him a hug. She was hoping he made a face, she loved it when he made those faces.

"Oi!" he protested, only half convincingly. "I'll show you a fanged teddy bear," he retorted, grabbing the slayer around her waist, hauling her across his lap and playfully attacking her neck.

Luckily, Buffy's reflexes were quick enough to have her plopping down her coffee mug with only minimal sloshing before she was so viciously attacked by the evil, evil vampire. An attack which left her in a fit of high giggles, making her feel like she was a teenager again. Spike just had a way of making everything better for her, without even really trying.

"Well come on luv, since you decided playin' hooky is off the table," he said, tossing the slayer over one shoulder, picking up their mugs and standing, making his way down to the hub. "Hi ho, hi ho, its off to work and all that rot."

She laughed the entire way to the elevator and down, her giggles filling the air as the cog door rolled to the side. "Okay, you're hilarious," she said with only a bit of sarcasm. "But you can put me down now." 

The last thing she needed was Jack getting ideas for new team bonding exercises.

He tilted his head and pretended to consider her statement even though she couldn't see his face since she was hanging upside down over his back. "I _could_ , but I think I won't," he said easily, his stride never faltering.

Her jaw dropped, even though she hadn't really expected him to let her go so easily. She was just betting Jack was watching from his office and having a good chuckle. Well, this next bit would get a laugh out of anyone.

She gave him a good smack on the rear. If it didn't get her put down, then at least he'd probably like it and that would eventually get her a _very_ nice kiss for her efforts.

"Oh, do it again," he said lecherously, knowing she wouldn't expect any different from him.

Buffy groaned in a _not_ sexually frustrated way. And she did it loudly.

" _Why_ are the men in my life so crazy?" she demanded to know, though she really wouldn't have it any other way. "The only sane one seems to be Ianto, and he's with Jack, so that _really_ doesn't give him all that many points..."

Jack, emerging from his office and unfazed by the upsidedown Slayer, was quite prepared to agree with Buffy until she got to the part about Ianto not getting points for dating him.

"Oi!" he said with mock affront. "I _know_ I'm dating up, okay. Don't rub it in," he teased, shooting Ianto a wink. Inwardly, Ianto was quite moved by the statement, joking or not, but he wouldn't let the others see it. He rolled his eyes and Jack laughed, which was a good result in and of itself.

Buffy managed to give Jack a not-quite-heartfelt glare before Gwen's arrival distracted her from whatever she'd been about to say. The dark haired woman was chewing a bite of pastry as she entered the room, stopping beside her desk to raise an eyebrow at her teammates. "Why is Spike holding Buffy like she's potatoes?" she asked around her breakfast, then continued eating and putting away her things without being at all concerned with the answer to her query.

"Well the Slayer here was tryin' to convince me that it would be a good idea to bunk off for the day. But bein' the responsible Vamp I am took it upon myself to make sure she got to work on time, even if that meant using force. At great physical risk to myself I might add," Spike explained, the picture of innocence.

Jack put on his Serious Face and nodded gravely at Spike's clearly insincere words.

" _Skipping work_?" Jack echoed. He looked at Ianto. "Isn't that a spanking offense?" he asked, matching the innocence in Spike's tone with his own.

"I think it is Capt'n," Spike replied matching his tone. 

"I wouldn't know," Ianto intoned without even looking up from his work. "Perhaps unbelievably, I've never considered doing it."

"Spanking? I'd like to dispute that claim," Jack answered with a smirk.

Ianto rolled his eyes with a great deal more sincere exasperation and picked up some files from his desk, heading towards the archives with them.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at Jack before doing her best contortionist impression to reach up and swat the back of Spike's head. "Okay, really, time to put me down," she said with an even dose of seriousness, but not enough to give the impression that she was mad about it.

Gwen just shook her head and stuffed the last bit of pastry into her mouth before pulling up a report she hadn't finished yet.

Never one not to follow through on a threat, or promise, whichever the case may be, Spike gave Buffy a couple quick swats on the bum before setting her back down on her feet, flashing her a shameless grin.

She, in return, gave him a look of almost death and declared, "You're so not getting any tonight," then turned and headed to her desk.

Gwen nearly choked on said pastry.

Jack chuckled as Ianto disappeared in the direction of the archives and shook his head at Spike before heading back towards his office. He was stopped in his tracks when the Rift alarm went off and Ianto came hurrying back from the archives to check the reading.

Spike on the other hand was wholly unconcerned, completely confident in his abilities to change the Slayer's mind, having no doubts that she would be singing a completely different tune come nightfall.

His interest piqued however when the alarms went off, hoping there was something that needed killing and it would be a venue where he could play too.

Gwen tossed the pen she'd just picked up back onto her desk with a frustrated look. She was never going to get that report done and Ianto was going to start docking her caffeine allotment when she got behind.

Buffy, for her part, just scowled and headed over to Ianto, who would undoubtedly be pulling up the information on whatever was causing all the racket.

Ianto was dimly aware that everyone had gathered around him, but he was too focused on what he was doing to take much more notice than that, with the exception of his very keen awareness that Jack was standing at his elbow. He was always keenly aware of Jack's presence or lack of it.

He scanned the information that came up on his screen, then looked up at Jack. "There's a major disturbance just outside of Cardiff," he explained. "It's not a standard rift spike. It's..." He looked back at the screen, frowning at the readings slightly. "Almost like it's being manipulated, somehow," he said. "There's a discernable pattern in the energy signature's oscillations."

"And in English that means-" Spike asked over Buffy's shoulder, not having bothered to take the time

Gwen frowned as she looked over the readings. "It means someone, or some _thing_ , is doing this on purpose," she surmised for the vampire.

Buffy's scowl deepened. "Great," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Just what we need."

Jack looked at the screen for a long moment before almost subconsciously laying a hand on Ianto's shoulder and glancing around at the team.

"Okay, so it looks like someone is trying to open the Rift somehow," he announced. "We should be able to get a location trace for the disturbance, so get your gear together." He looked down at Ianto. "I want you to come along, but you're working on the scientific side of things _only_. If there's an altercation, you stay _out_ of it. You haven't been cleared. Don't make me send you back here. Understood?"

Ianto nodded, trying not to look too pleased about getting out of the Hub as he slid out of his seat and began gathering his equipment.

"Does that mean I'm manning the bat cave?" Spike asked nonchallantly, in an attempt to not draw attention to the fact that they had never left him alone in the hub before.

Buffy became very still, waiting to hear the answer with as much anticipation as Spike. It was Jack's call, but... everyone already knew what her vote would be.

Jack turned and looked at Spike. "If you wouldn't _mind_ ," he replied. "We've gotten along without someone here when we've had to, but it's easier if we have someone to keep an eye on the monitors."

"Well arighty then," he said taking said position in front of the monitors and spinning around once in the chair, more surprised and pleased then he would ever show or admit by the acceptance and trust he was being shown. It was something that he had fought to hard and so long from the Scoobys, and half the time he still didn't have it from them. "But the first person who calls me Alfred get's their tongue ripped out," he threatened unconvincingly.

Buffy grinned like someone had just given her a shiny new sharp object; words couldn't express how happy she was for him to be accepted into her new family. It erased any lingering doubt that she might not have made the right decision in joining Torchwood.

Leaning down, she gave him a sound kiss, her hands framing his face. "Don't blow anything up," she whispered playfully before pulling back to grab her things from her desk. With her earpiece securely in place and gun tucked out of sight, she turned at Gwen's call.

"We've got a location!" the dark-haired woman pronounced as she tapped a few more keys on the pad in her hands, a bag full of equipment on her shoulder. 

Buffy hoisted a much larger and heavier bag of equipment onto her own shoulder before giving the Y chromosomes of the team a raised eyebrow. "Well, _come on_ , boys, we don't wanna be late to the party!"


End file.
